Sports Club Achieves Sustainability Milestones

by | Jun 30, 2014

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Green gymThe Longfellow Clubs, a Boston-group of sports clubs, has released details of some of its sustainability measures, showing that it has saved well over a million gallons of water since implementing them in 2006. As part of these efforts, the clubs have done the following:

  • Replaced all urinals with waterless urinals that save over 45,000 gallons of water per urinal, per year.
  • Replaced all 3.5-4 gallon per minute showerheads with 2 gallon per minute showerheads, resulting in a savings of several hundred thousand gallons of water per year.
  • Decreased water use in the Longfellow Wayland location from an average of 255,923 gallons of water per month in 2006 to 160,500 average gallons of water per month in 2013.

The clubs have also made significant cuts in their energy usage, including:

  • Replaced 1,000 watt metal halide lights on the tennis courts with 500-700 watt induction fluorescent bulbs, increasing quality and brightness while reducing wattage by 40 percent. The change is expected to reduce energy usage by 55 percent.
  • Decreased electricity usage in the Longfellow Natick location from 501,920 kilowatt hours in 2007 to 361,840 KWH.

According to the clubs, energy savings have been significant, with some energy savings as high as 64 percent for locations that began changes in 2006-2007.

In March 2013, the Natick Racquet Club, on behalf of the Longfellow Clubs, joined 1% for the Planet, the world’s largest environmental network. The club joined in order to further reduce its environmental impact and connect with like-minded businesses. Through the company’s involvement in the network, the Natick Racquet Club seeks the expertise of the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts on several of its internal green efforts.

According to Laury Hammel, president of the Longfellow Clubs, the organization is constantly looking for ways to make its health clubs more efficient, adding that they want to be an example for other businesses that are thinking of greening their facilities.

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