Thursday, February 20, 2014

Geelong YMCA lights up for reduced carbon footprint


With a little help from its friends, Geelong YMCA has saved money and reduced its carbon footprint by upgrading its lighting to LED technology.
The pro-active move means YMCA Geelong will save at least AUD$4,200 annually from its electricity bills, reduce its carbon footprint by 21 tonnes, the same as taking four and a half cars off the road, every year.

The Y Service Club of Geelong raised the AUD $12,000 to pay for the replacement of old 400W mercury vapour hi-bay lights with new generation 100W LED hi-bay lights.




“This improvement will mean the YMCA saves the cost of the new lights every 3 years, well into the future. Importantly this is a clear signal that the YMCA is doing something about its carbon footprint, ” said Acting YMCA Geelong CEO Shona Eland.

This work will continue to be prioritised at YMCA facilities in Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong, they are all participating in the Spark energy efficiency literacy initiative.

Spark is a partnership between the Australian Conservation Foundation and the YMCA which aims to improve energy efficiency by education staff, taking action to improve the efficiency of its practice and everyone who uses YMCA facilities.

Further, the Y Service Club of Geelong was the recipient of the first Y’s Men International carbon offset funds for another smaller project a few years ago.

Three projects have been funded so far this year, one in Sri Lanka, one in Bangladesh and one in Thailand. For further information about applying for Y’s Men International carbon offset funds, please contact Y’s Men International Green Team Chairperson, Colin Lambie at ColinLambie@ysmen.org.au

Pictured: Y Service Club of Geelong President, Jaryd DeBeer with the electrician who installed the new lights.

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