Serco Leisure is part of Serco Group and manages 64 leisure centres on behalf of local authority clients and trusts. Energy is Serco Leisure’s second largest cost, and with rapidly increasing energy prices resulting in an anticipated £2 million of additional costs, in 2006, its board set a target of a 5% reduction in energy consumption.
Serco Leisure mainly focused on improving the management of its energy use including:
- Reducing air and pool water temperatures where possible
- Reducing boiler temperatures
- Regularly monitoring energy use
- Implementing management controls and improved reporting and analysis
- Developing a ‘colour coded lighting strategy’ specifying light usage in accordance with planned activities
- Insulating buildings and plant
The company also introduced new energy efficiency measures including Combined Heat and Power Units, swimming pool filter insulation, and ‘liquid covers’ to conserve water temperature in pools.
To engage staff in reducing energy use, Serco Leisure applied its entrepreneurial culture, through a staff suggestion scheme - ‘Big Ideas’ – which resulted in the use of bubble wrap to insulate swimming pool filters. It also created competition between sites through league tables and incentive schemes. Finally, the importance of energy saving was communicated at site level through e-mails, workshops, staff meetings and noticeboards.
Serco Leisure has also encouraged customers to keep doors closed, not to leave showers and taps running and displayed Carbon Trust posters and stickers throughout its centres.
To further reduce its climate impacts, Serco Leisure is looking into wind turbines, bore hole cooling, and ice rink thermal recapture. It is also working towards transferring its initiatives across the businesses, including its prison and hospital services and has since been appointed by local authorities to review their energy management systems.
