The switch to green saves money for Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation

This article appears in the August 2009 edition of Sportshorts.

A move by the Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation to small electric vehicles for on-site use will slash costs – and mean less green house gases!

The Academy has replaced a fleet of petrol powered on-road vehicles with six electric ‘club carts’, similar to those used on golf courses.

“During the past three years, we have gradually rationalised the fleet of vehicles we use to get around our 127 ha site at Narrabeen,” said Centre Manager, Brendan Barrett.

“Although these cars and utilities were mostly only being driven around the Centre, they were registered for on-road use and expensive to lease.

“Fuel costs were also climbing which added greatly to running costs.

“We looked at a number of options and decided that ‘club carts’ were a better option for our particular requirements. The carts don’t need to be registered, are electric, emit considerably less pollutants and consume much less energy. This enables us to meet the NSW Government’s policies on sustainability.

“Of course, we need to keep a small number of on-road vehicles for client transport, medical emergencies, maintenance and other situations where we need to leave the Centre. However, the new club carts will allow us to cut our costs by about a third which will result in considerable savings.”

Mr Barrett said the Centre ‘club carts’ are expected to be in service for about eight years.

“The Sydney Academy has several energy and water saving initiatives underway which will lead to considerable savings over the next twelve months.

“For example, through numerous changes to everyday practices we have achieved major water savings and reduced our carbon footprint.

“One of the most significant initiatives has been to irrigate the Academy’s 40,000m² of sporting fields at night using dam water.

“Drought tolerant landscaping has also been introduced at the site. In addition, half flush toilets, and water efficient urinals, shower heads and taps have been installed.

“Altogether these measures have cut back water use from 152 kL per day to 63.8 kL per day – an outstanding 58 per cent reduction. This reduction has been achieved despite an increase in residential and facility use.

“This effort was acknowledged last year in Sydney Water’s ‘Every Drop Counts Business Program’ awards which recognises organisations that have achieved significant water savings. This year we will continue our efforts to save even more water with a water harvesting and recycling project.

“We are progressively installing new lighting and heating systems throughout the Centre that will also substantially reduced our energy costs. Sensors and timers are also being used to reduce the lighting and heating burden when staff and clients are not in rooms and buildings. Natural light solutions, such as skylights, are also being installed to reduce the need for artificial light sources.

“It’s important to do what we can, even if it’s small, to help reduce pollution and do our bit to combat global warming,” he said.