Nottingham City Council has relaunched the Power Points campaign in Active Nottingham leisure centres across the city today to encourage both staff and visitors to make choices that are more sustainable.
Leisure centres are vital for supporting residents with their physical and mental health, but they have some of the highest carbon emissions of council-owned buildings. Reducing emissions as far as possible through behaviour change campaigns such as Power Points will support the city’s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2028.
The Power Points campaign gives visitors tips on how they can minimise the amount of energy used during their visit – for example, taking a shorter shower or reporting when lights are on unnecessarily. Centre staff will also get involved in making operational changes while maintaining high-quality services for visitors.
Each leisure centre will win points for reducing their energy consumption and completing sustainability actions, and a monthly leader board will show which centre has been the most successful.
As well as reducing carbon emissions from leisure centres, minimising energy consumption will also support the leisure centres to save money on their energy bills.
Councillor Sally Longford, Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Waste Services, said: “Our ambitious target to make Nottingham a carbon neutral city by 2028 includes decarbonising all buildings in the city. Our leisure centres are all performing better than national energy benchmarks set out by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, but we aim to make further reductions as part of the Power Points programme.
“This is one of many ways we’re encouraging people in Nottingham to make sustainable choices. The Power Points tips that visitors will find in leisure centres can also be applied to your everyday life to help you reduce your carbon emissions at home too.”
Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, said: “The Power Points tips and guidance will aid and encourage members and leisure centre teams to make more sustainable choices without impacting their visit. Active Nottingham leisure centres have a number of sustainable measures in place such as solar energy generation by using PV Systems on available rooftop spaces and car parks, so the Power Points campaign is a great addition to the initiatives already in place.”
Wayne Bexton, Director of Environment and Sustainability at Nottingham City Council, said: ‘’Power Points appeals to the competitive nature of staff and leisure centre visitors to decrease their energy usage and help their leisure centre be top of the league! Saving carbon and cutting costs couldn’t be more important at the moment, and I would encourage everyone to get involved to learn more about the actions they can take.”
Visit www.activenottingham.com to find your nearest centre.