Sustainable Gym Equipment: 5 Reasons it Belongs in Your Fitness Centre

Sustainability can be difficult for gyms, especially for already-established businesses. But as it becomes more important to more people in wider society, sustainability must also become more important to your business.

One reason is that eco-friendliness is becoming more important to more people, including your current and potential future members. They're more likely to make buying decisions with their conscience as much as with their credit cards. Any prospective future employees are also more likely to look for companies that create value in the world rather than looking at job titles or salary alone. Gyms are no exception to this. 

The UK has over 3,000 gyms and more than 10 million members. It's a competitive market. It's similar in the US, where 64.19 million people have a gym membership at any of the country's 41,370 gyms.

Given the recent COVID-19 pandemic, sustainability may be the furthest thing from your mind. Still, if there's one thing that national shutdowns have shown, it's how local businesses are vulnerable to global events. 

And what greater global event is there than climate change? So, sustainability isn't just about protecting the planet but also about protecting the future of businesses, including yours.  

And putting sustainable gym equipment in your gym doesn't have to be a philanthropic exercise. As we mentioned earlier, people are looking to adopt eco-friendlier lives. Gyms that align their businesses with the values of their target audience will have an advantage over those that don't.

Certainly, in the UK, we're seeing more money allocated to help businesses transition to a cleaner economy, adopt greener systems and get ahead of the UK Government's 2050 carbon net-zero plan.

Some gym owners hear the word sustainable and think of vegan protein shakes, indoor plants, and yoga. Being eco-friendlier doesn't mean swapping your spit-and-sawdust lifting gym for yoga mats and beanbags. Sustainability often just means adapting current systems or processes to become more efficient and kinder to the planet.  

But what's important to remember is that sustainability is also about being more efficient, because efficient systems and businesses save money. Therefore, sustainability can be an investment. By framing it that way, you might also make it easier to sell the idea to whoever holds the purse strings at your gym.

There are plenty of ways to make your gym more sustainable, but here are five reasons we think sustainable gym equipment belongs in your gym.

Turn on human power  

The stationary bikes in your gym can already generate clean energy. The problem is that your equipment can't capture and convert it into electricity. The electricity-generating RE:GEN Studio can. It can go onto the gym floor or as part of a bigger installation at an indoor cycling studio to maximize power generation.  

Using human power not only helps gyms offset their energy bills but also helps them reduce their carbon footprint. Most commercial gyms rent the buildings they operate from, making meaningful sustainability difficult or left to landlords who may not want to modify the building. 

Sustainable gym equipment goes into the one place a gym has complete control - the gym floor. 

Attract New Members 

We touched on this in the introduction, but it's important to recognize how seriously younger generations take social issues like climate change. Around 75% of Millennials and Gen-Zs are willing to pay more for sustainable products or services. Right now, sustainability is a big marketing buzzword, providing a focal point for campaigns and events designed to attract and retain members. Sustainable gym equipment offers a central point around which a gym's marketing strategy can lean on and then support with other eco-initiatives like banning single-use plastic water bottles and using water-saving devices in showers and changing rooms.

One word of warning, though. It's easy to get carried away with your marketing claims, but only ramp up your green credentials if you can back them up. Eco-marketing that's exaggerated, faked or unsubstantiated is called greenwashing, and it will harm your brand in the long run. It's always better to be honest, starting from humble beginnings rather than risk being fraudulent.

Happier Employees 

Sustainable and socially responsible companies have happier employees, according to research. People like working for companies that care about more than just generating profit. Whilst there isn't anything wrong with building a brand that creates wealth, companies should also think about what they can put back into society. Once again, this goes beyond just random acts of philanthropy. Employee well-being may seem ridiculous to some, but research suggests it can make employees happier and more productive. Don't underestimate the power of aligning your business with significant social and environmental issues.  

Sustainable equipment has come a long way. You'll now find brands using technology to support eco-friendly gyms and fitness centres. For example, the RE:GEN Studio allows trainers and instructors to see their best-performing classes, and riders can see how much clean power they generate in real time. 

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint  

Sustainability is essential in its own right too. We're running out of time to keep global temperatures below two degrees. Everyone must play their part, including businesses and industries. Sustainable gym equipment can help reduce your business's carbon footprint, helping to ensure that you're staying on the right side of future net-zero legislation too.

You may get access to low-carbon grants, advice and support too. Businesses can also get a carbon audit where an external company comes in and looks at where you can increase efficiency, assess carbon usage and give advice on how to reduce it.

Let there be LED light 

And it doesn't need to be fitness equipment. Your gym is more than just a collection of stationary bikes, weights or treadmills. You can introduce sustainability across your entire gym. Because sustainability and efficiency are closely related, replacing your current lights with LEDs is one easy way to reduce your electricity bills. According to one website, LEDs are up to 80% more efficient than fluorescent lighting, converting 95% of energy into light. LEDs also draw less power for the same brightness as other lighting types and will likely last up to 6-times longer. While LEDs cost more per individual unit for their lifetime, it's far more cost-efficient, so it represents a significant business saving in places like gyms where lighting must be left on for extended periods. Gyms may also consider reducing single-use plastic, using sustainable flooring or water-efficient toilets and showers.

Sustainable gym equipment belongs in your gym because it's the future of fitness. Sustainability is more than just something your business should pay lip service to. It's now part of the consumer's lexicon. Offering eco-friendlier processes or equipment in your facility can sometimes seem more expensive or complicated. Still, ultimately, it could bring a return on investment to support your gym for many years. 

If your gym is interested in stationary bikes that create electricity, you can find out more about the RE:GEN Studio. 

Looking for an electricity-generating indoor cycling bike for the home? You can now pre-order your RE:GEN.