Litefoot's charitable service helps 1,000 sports clubs

Litefoot helps 1,000 community sports clubs become environmental champions

Award-winning charitable trust, Litefoot, has reached an exciting milestone. 1,000 sports clubs have now benefited from LiteClub, a free service that has saved $6 million for community sport and prevented 6,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Litefoot is led by 10 Kiwi sporting heroes, including Brendon McCullum, Sarah Walker, Conrad Smith, Barbara Kendall, Marina Erakovic, Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, Michael Campbell, Moss Burmester and top surfer Daniel Kereopa. Since 2008, they have been competing against each other to see who can reduce environmental impact the most. Sarah Walker said that, “it’s exciting to see how a number of small changes can together create an incredible result. Being efficient with resources, like water and energy, has always been something I’ve cared about. This has been a great way to put it into practice.“

Off the back of the ambassadors’ leadership, LiteClub helps grassroots sports clubs follow their lead, by improving electricity, water and recycling efficiency in clubrooms. LiteClub field teams travel Aotearoa in a van stocked with efficient products: LED lightbulbs, water saving devices, insulation and indoor recycling stations. Over a three-hour clubroom visit, LiteClub staff make as many on-the-spot changes as possible, to transform the club into an efficiency champion.

Since the initiative launched in 2011, LiteClub has been visiting sports clubs throughout New Zealand, from Kaitaia to Invercargill. It is a completely free service, thanks to a crucial network of local and national funders. In 2016, Litefoot won the Community category and Supreme Award at the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA) Awards. Governing bodies from the major codes all support LiteClub’s work. NZ Golf Chief Executive, Dean Murphy, describes it as ”invaluable to community sport. 136 of our clubs are already involved and benefitting, with the remainder being encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity too.”

Grassroots clubs are usually cash-strapped and run by busy volunteers who don't have the time or resources to make these changes. “By addressing this, LiteClub frees up money to go back into what really matters – sport,” said Sport New Zealand Chief Executive, Peter Miskimmin. “The environmental benefits of using less electricity, water and recycling more effectively make this a ‘win-win’ scenario - not a common sporting result!”

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