Our commitment to health and fitness begins with providing our membership, staff, and guests with a clean, safe, welcoming environment. Did you know that Elite’s facilities are proudly maintained using environmentally responsible, 3rd-party certified Green cleaning chemicals, paper products, and equipment?
Why Green Cleaning at Elite Sports Clubs?
Based on the latest reports released by IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association), 16% of the American population currently belongs to a health club, and membership has increased more than 10% over the past three years to over 50.2 million members. Data from studies conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on similarly-sized populations in schools, has shown the risks associated with this type of high-volume, daily foot-traffic include: exposure to polluted indoor air, lead, asbestos, chemical fumes, pesticides, molds and other toxins, along with overcrowding and poor sanitation. A well-designed Green Cleaning program can help reduce these harmful exposures and yield many other positive benefits for members, custodial staff, administrators and the environment, including:
1. Green Cleaning Helps Members and Staff Stay Healthy: The research in schools showed a clear link between poor indoor air quality, sick students and teachers, and poor academic and occupational performance. Furthermore, children miss more than 14 million school days each year due to asthma exacerbated by poor indoor air quality, which disproportionately affects low-income and minority students. Green cleaning can help reduce the environmental hazards that negatively affect children’s growing, developing bodies.
2. Green Cleaning Protects the Health of Custodial Staff: Members of the custodial staff, especially women of child-bearing age, are particularly susceptible to health problems caused by their frequent and close interaction with cleaning chemicals and equipment. Choosing safer products and training staff in proper usage can help reduce the number of injuries caused by caustic chemicals, respiratory irritation and dangerous equipment, decrease Workers’ Compensation claims, and lower insurance costs.
3. Green Cleaning Increases the Lifespan of Facilities: Proper maintenance extends the longevity and performance of building materials and furnishings by preventing damage and premature aging, which in turn reduces waste and unnecessary spending. For example, a club may allocate a significant amount of money to carpeting, which is expected to have a useful life of 10 to 15 years. A square foot of typical carpet can hide as much as three times its weight in dirt and sand, which act like thousands of small knives, cutting and wearing out fibers in a few short years — long before its useful lifespan and before the club had budgeted to replace it.
4. Green Cleaning Preserves the Environment: Traditional cleaning products can contain harmful chemicals. Depending on the duration, rate and extent of exposure, they can cause cancer, reproductive disorders, major organ damage, and permanent eye damage. These cleaning chemicals are also routinely washed down the drain where they find their way into drinking water, lakes and streams, adversely affecting plant and animal life, threatening public health and adding to pollution. The cleaning industry consumes six billion pounds of chemicals, including non-renewable natural resources such as petroleum, and generates 4.5 billion pounds of paper products requiring the cutting of 35 million trees annually. Buying recycled paper and plastic products can help conserve precious natural resources for future generations.
It’s no secret that today’s health club member is concerned about and conscious of how we treat the environment. And they’re making important, informed decisions as a result – including how cleaning products are used in the spaces in which they work, live, and play.
Our Elite Sports Clubs members deserve a safer, greener health club experience.
Schedule a TourWe’d like to offer a special thank you to Tartan Supply for helping Elite Sports Clubs with its green cleaning initiative.
1 Comment
I applaud your decision in this area. It’s good to know that Elite cares for both staff and members. I still find it frustrating that Elite does not provide well labeled recycling containers at the two clubs I visit. West Brookfield especially lacks this in the party area used after tennis matches. This signals to me that Elite does not really care about this aspect of caring for the environment. Why is it not a priority?