Les Mills Raises the Bar in Sustainability Stakes

Media Release
November 2014

Les Mills Raises the Bar in Sustainability Stakes
Brand new Lambton Quay gym is the greenest yet

Les Mills, New Zealand’s largest and most awarded gym chain, is becoming even greener with its new state-of-the-art gym on Wellington’s Lambton Quay.

Every aspect of the new gym’s design has been developed with the environment front-of-mind, from feature walls made from recycled materials and the re-use of old squash court flooring from Newlands College, to cardio equipment that cuts energy use by half.

Joanna Ealand, National Facility and Sustainability Manager at Les Mills New Zealand, says there has never been a greener Les Mills club. We encourage our development team to constantly ask, “How will this impact the environment?”

Not only does the gym have low-flow showerheads, recycled floors and walls, dual-flushing toilets, and LED lighting; the build itself was notable for minimising its impact on the environment.

“There are several new initiatives that make this gym special, including extensive use of environmentally-friendly materials and stringent green practices that formed part of our contract with the construction company, Freear Phillip,” says Ealand.

From the outset of the Lambton Quay fit-out, Freear Phillip established key sustainability initiatives to minimise the effect of the development on the environment. Working with EnviroWaste, construction waste was recycled wherever possible; all documentation was kept electronic; and carpooling, careful planning of deliveries, and use of fuel-efficient, low-emission company vehicles minimised the impact of transport to and from the site.

Fit-out materials were purchased from suppliers with established sustainability policies, including Fletcher Building and Resene Paints, and were specified by leading environmental consultants.

“Along with energy-saving products, our consultants sourced locally-manufactured furniture. As an alternative to bamboo for our feature walls, we utilised recycled Tawa, which was formerly a squash court flooring removed from Newlands College Gymnasium,” says Ealand.

As part of its growing commitment to sustainability, Les Mills also has an Energy Practice Manager who sits on the design team to ensure all design decisions are made with energy efficiency in mind.

Les Mills is now also leading the industry in its choice of gym equipment, which helps the club to run cleaner and greener.

Ealand says, “We’re seeing a welcome evolution in gym equipment and we’re thrilled with what we’ve chosen for Lambton Quay. We’ve partnered with Life Fitness, which is more energy efficient than any other fitness equipment brand.”

Life Fitness treadmills use up to 52% less energy than their competitors. “The exercise bikes and cross-trainers we selected use energy from the exerciser to generate power, reducing electrical draw by up to 75%,” adds Ealand.

“Les Mills Lambton Quay has replaced Les Mills on The Terrace and, wherever possible, we’ve reused items from the previous club; and if we couldn’t reuse items, we’ve done our best to salvage them, either recycling or selling them,” says Ealand. “It’s our duty as a New Zealand business to look after our country and we’re proud to do our bit.”

lesmills.co.nz/lambtonquay.

ENDS

Notes to editors

About Les Mills:
• Les Mills has 10 gyms throughout New Zealand with over 50,000 members
• Les Mills won the 2014 Canstar Blue award for Most Satisfied Customers for Gyms
• Each week more than 5 million people in 80 countries take part in a Les Mills group fitness class
• Les Mills Lambton Quay is one of three Wellington Les Mills gyms, the others being Les Mills Extreme (on Taranaki St) and Les Mills Hutt City
• Les Mills is the most awarded gym chain in New Zealand
• Les Mills has been a New Zealand-owned company since 1968

About Freear Philip Ltd:
Freear Phillip recognises the importance of sustainable practices. They are continually assessing and improving their operations to minimize the effect on our environment. They are committed to the preservation of natural resources and the safeguarding of the environmental from any harmful effects associated with their operations. Freear Philip Ltd has been a member of the New Zealand Green Building Council since 2009 and a number of their key staff have gained accreditation as Green Star professionals. They completed their first 5 star Green Star building in 2010, a new administration and seminar building for MAF at their Wallaceville Campus.

About Life Fitness:
Life Fitness is the global leader in commercial fitness equipment manufacturing. The company manufactures and sells strength and cardiovascular equipment under the brand names Life Fitness and Hammer Strength and distributes its equipment in more than 120 countries. Headquartered outside Chicago, in Rosemont, Ill., Life Fitness is a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC).

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