In recent years environmentalism (otherwise known as being ‘green’) has become a rapidly growing area of interest for both customers and businesses across a broad range of industries - from hospitality to transportation and everything in between. This is largely due to the increased awareness and guilt consumers are experiencing when they hear about the impact their actions are having on their surrounding environment. You can do your part in becoming a green fitness club or ‘eco gym’ - these are clubs which take into consideration the environmental impact of all aspects of running their gym - from the soaps they use in their bathrooms, the way they wash their complementary towels and even the suppliers they source their equipment and supplements from.
There are numerous benefits of becoming a green fitness club or ‘eco gym’ outside of saving the planet from unnecessary environmental damage:
You can gain a better brand image by appearing environmentally responsible and being able to utilize eco labels in your advertising materials. With customers becoming more conscious of their impact it means they are looking more closely at the environmental practices the services they subscribe to are undertaking (that’s you, the gym owner!) - this means that turning into a sustainable gym could see your club becoming more appealing to this audience and subsequently increasing the potential for more members.
You can also save money on your regular running costs, for example reducing the amount of towels being washed, fitting water saving shower heads and LED light bulbs can lead to you saving big bucks at the end of the month when you receive your power and water bills.
How your Gym can be Environmentally Friendly
To become more environmentally friendly there is a few key areas where you should focus your time, money and effort for the best possible results - supply, consumption and waste. Here are some quick and easy things you can do around your facility to turn your regular fitness club into a more eco friendly gym.
Sourcing and Supply
The products, equipment and building materials used in and around your facility all has it’s own environmental implications - whether these be from the resources used in the manufacturing of these items or just shipping it from the factory to your door.
To reduce your environmental impact in this area, the easiest thing you can do is try to source locally - instead of ordering your equipment from overseas first see online if there are any manufacturers or wholesalers who stock closer to home. This means that the amount of fuel needed to transport your equipment to the facility is lower and subsequently will impact the environment less. If you have no local alternatives, consider ordering from one supplier and asking them to package your items together - this saves shipping costs and the environmental impact, which is why here at GymMaster we take measures to try and ship our clients orders in one package where possible.
Purchasing products which are made from more sustainable materials for your gym is also going to lessen your environmental impact. For example, this might mean looking for machines which haven’t been painted with harmful chemicals, non-toxic soaps for cleaning towels or bio-degradable wipes for cleaning down your equipment. Sometimes paying a little more for higher quality equipment and products can also be worthwhile as you won’t need to replace or maintain them as often - leading to lower expenses and less environmental cost.
Consumption & Waste
Limiting unnecessary resource consumption and reducing wastage is another area which you can reduce your club’s environmental impact and also save a large amount of money as well.
The first thing an eco friendly gym will usually implement within their facility are more sustainable fixtures and fittings. Environmental fixtures and fittings you can easily install in your club include power or water saving devices. These include replacing florescent tubes or other regular bulbs around the gym with LED lights and light strips (these use much less electricity), installing low flow taps, toilets and shower heads to help reduce the amount of water being consumed.
Another popular area you should focus on when turning your club into an eco friendly gym is how you handle waste. Popular waste management strategies include offering recycling bins next to your regular garbage, offering reusable bottles and fountains to members eliminating the need for them to buy unnecessary plastic bottles for their workouts.
Get your members involved!
For the best results (and greater awareness among your members of the efforts you are undertaking) you should aim to get your members involved in the process. Install timers or signage in bathrooms encouraging them to keep their showers to a minimum, ask them to reuse towels where possible and if you offer disinfectant wipes for members to wipe down equipment you should try asking them to only use one at a time instead of grabbing a handful.
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