With Poligras Paris GT zero, Polytan presents the world’s first carbon-neutral synthetic turf for field hockey. It has been developed specially for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where the world’s best teams will compete. Poligras Paris GT zero is 100% climate-neutral, without compromising on playing characteristics. This is made possible by a combination of different factors, including a new manufacturing process and the use of sustainably farmed, organically based synthetic materials.
The Olympic Games are something to aspire to – not only athletically, but in terms of technical progress as well. That’s why, with Poligras Paris GT zero, Polytan has developed a new and improved successor to its Poligras Tokyo GT, which is used in all leading hockey nations around the world. Poligras Paris GT zero will help Paris meet its self-declared environmental goals, while setting new standards in playing quality and environmental friendliness.
During the manufacture of the turf fibres, fossil-fuel-based polyethylene is replaced with organically based polyethylene. The I’m Green™ polyethylene is an organic plastic made by Braskem, the world’s largest producer of organically based polyethylene. The material for the carbon-neutral hockey turf is manufactured using a by-product of sugar cane processing in Brazil. In the production process for I’m Green™ polyethylene, the first two pressings of the sugar cane are used for sugar production. The third – which is no longer useful for this purpose – is used as a raw material for organic polyethylene, which makes up approximately 80% of Poligras Paris GT zero. This saves around 73 tons of CO2 compared to a conventional synthetic turf.
Less water consumption, thanks to Turf Glide
A major component in maximising the sustainability of Poligras Paris GT zero is the permanently improved product design, which consumes less water than before. For example, the synthetic turf used at the Olympic Games in Tokyo consumed 39% less water than the turf used in Rio only four years earlier. Polytan Paris GT zero takes this development even further with the introduction of Turf Glide, a new, patent-protected technology that reduces surface friction so that even less water is needed to reduce friction resistance and minimise the risk of injury.
A leap forward in field hockey development
Paul Kamphuis, Global Head of the Sport Group’s hockey business responsible for the implementation of hockey projects around the world, including Project Paris 2024, summarises: “Having developed turfs for eight Olympic Games, we have seen how the Olympic turf sets the standard for innovation. Poligras Tokyo GT turf, with over 50 installations, was extremely popular and demonstrated that the hockey community is choosing a more sustainable future for their sport. Poligras Paris GT zero takes this commitment to another level. It will make carbon-zero hockey a reality, not just for Paris, but for clubs, colleges and communities all over the world.”
In October 2022, Polytan installed its first Poligras Paris GT zero hockey turf at the renowned Hamburger Polo Club e.V., whose men’s team plays in the 1st Bundesliga. In future, it will be used both by the professional Bundesliga players and by youth teams.
Providing the optimal surface for athletic success – Polytan has pursued this aim with its sports flooring and artificial turf systems since 1969. And the bonus is that sustainability and environmental compatibility have always been a priority for us here at Polytan. The spectrum ranges from environmentally friendly raw materials and energy conservation during the manufacturing processes to the recycling of the surfaces. In line with our motto “We make sport. Greener.”, Polytan is continuously and effectively improving the future of sports flooring. Polytan’s Green Technology (GT) line is the result of years of research and signals a new generation of state-of-the-art products and processes that combine specialised expertise with the functional and ecological benefits of renewable raw materials and resource-saving technologies.
Polytan’s portfolio caters to disciplines such as football, hockey, rugby, American football, athletics, tennis, and multisport use, and even offers fall protection. In addition to developing, manufacturing and installing sports surfaces, Polytan also offers line painting, repair, cleaning and maintenance as part of its range of services. Polytan provides the largest sports surface installation network in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific. All products comply with the current national and international standards, and have all the relevant certifications of international sporting associations, including FIFA, FIH, World Rugby and World Athletics.
About the Sport Group
The Sport Group sells and installs more synthetic turf pitches, athletics tracks and multifunctional playing fields than any other company worldwide. The Sport Group consists of 21 companies, including Polytan and AstroTurf.
The Sport Group, Polytan and AstroTurf are committed to the long-term health of hockey as a sport. We are partners of the FIH (International Hockey Federation) and many other hockey organisations around the world, including the Asian Hockey Federation, the German Hockey Federation, Hockey South Australia, USA Field Hockey and Catalan Hockey Federation (Spain).
About Poligras
Poligras is the Sport Group’s global brand for synthetic hockey turf. Poligras Paris GT zero is available worldwide from the companies in the Sport Group: Polytan in EMEA and the Asia-Pacific region, and AstroTurf in the USA and the North/South American region.
Source
Polytan, press release, 2022-11-24.
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