By Alexia Morgan, Belgravia Leisure’s Business Improvement Manager

As the sustainability and environment lead at Belgravia Leisure, I am privileged to have influence across our extensive network of sites. My journey in this role began in 2017, driven by a lifelong passion for environmental stewardship.

I was and still am filled with optimism about the impact I can make within our organisation. Over time, I’ve celebrated significant milestones such as spearheading the removal of plastic straws, cutlery, plates and stirrers from all our venues well ahead of legislative mandates.

Another proud achievement was securing Climate Active certification for a leisure centre, marking it as the first in Australia to achieve carbon neutrality under the carbon-neutral services standard. Equally rewarding was mastering the certification process independently in subsequent years.

Overcoming challenges

Of course, along with these successes, there have been challenges. One notable setback was our struggle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from corporate travel, which is a necessity in supporting our growing business operations. We are working on potential solutions to this conundrum without stopping the travel necessary for supporting our growing business operations, including closely tracking, and in the future, offsetting our emissions from this travel.

Learning and growth

My commitment to advancing in this field led me to pursue a Master’s in Environment and Sustainability at Monash University, which was supported by Belgravia Leisure. This educational journey has equipped me with valuable insights and innovative strategies that I’m eager to integrate into our business operations.

The Green Road program

One newly developed strategy is our internal initiative, the Green Road program, designed to systematically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimise waste and optimise our venue operations.

The Green Road program is currently being rolled out at five venues in Victoria and looks at the relationship between facility design, our guests and how they use the facility, as well as Belgravia Leisure’s actions as the facility operators. Collaboration between all three components will result in the highest-level sustainability outcomes, which we are excited to share as the initiative progresses.

The Green Road program will also see the development of a decarbonisation plan which will be invaluable in taking the venue’s operations into the future. This program underscores our belief that sustainability is an ongoing journey rather than a destination, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

I am heartened by the expanded scope of my influence, amplified by Belgravia Leisure’s continued commitment to environmental improvement. This opportunity allows me to not only implement impactful changes within our organisation but also to inspire others across the industry to collaborate in combating climate change. Watch this space as the Green Road program rolls out and I have more exciting updates to share.

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