Gold's Gym - a new model for sustainable gym development?
Article highlights on sustainability at Gold’s Gym:
Who are Golds Gym and are they a sustainable gym brand?
USGBC LEED certification for gyms - golds gyms example
What is sustainable about the interiors of gold’s gym Berlin headquarters?
Biophilia in gym interiors - all the details to know
Energy efficiency and clean energy at gold’s gym
A lack of sustainable gym equipment - an industry-wide issue
Indoor air quality in Golds Gyms in Berlin and Milano
Outdoor gym design and strength training equipment
Who are Gold’s Gym and are they a sustainable gym brand?
Golds Gym has long held a reputation as one of the leaders in strength and bodybuilding gyms. Its first location was founded by Joe Gold in 1965 at Golds Gym Venice Beach, California.
Since its start, it has expanded to approximately seven hundred locations with over three million members, they are masters in the delivery of a Gold’s Gym family experience.
Currently, Gold’s Gym is owned by RSG Group, a global leader in fitness and lifestyle.
The RSG conglomerate of 18 brands also houses gym giants such as budget gym brand McFit and irreverent design-led John Reed gyms, equating to a total membership base of over 6.4 million members.
Who better to implement a market-leading gym sustainability plan, in other words?
Will all future new-build Gold’s Gyms go through this same process of gym sustainability consulting and LEED certification? It is probably too early to tell, at least for those of us outside of the organization but RSG Group have made a bold commitment to the cause of sustainability and are one of the few pushing the boundaries in the gym industry for sustainable excellence, that much is clear enough already!
USGBC LEED certification for gyms
Gold’s gym berlin headquarters
RSG introduced Gold’s Gym into the German market in Berlin with the first commercial gym to receive a USGBC LEED Platinum certification for sustainability, in particular as a Commercial Interiors project, while Gold’s Gym Milano in Italy is currently awaiting confirmation of the same level of certification.
Various hyperbolic claims are out there, from ‘the gym of the future’ to ‘the greenest gym in the world’, so we decided to take a look under the bonnet by analyzing both sites through the prism of the Biofit Sustainable Gym Model.
what is sustainable about the interiors of gold’s gym berlin headquarters?
The Berlin flagship occupies 55,000 square feet, and according to its founder Rainer Schaller, “delivers a product concept to the highest degree”, this was informed by insights gained from a partnership with fitness legend Lou Ferrigno who advised on the bodybuilding equipment selection (see below).
A carbon and climate-neutral design meant implementing a sustainability policy right from the start with an extensive sustainable construction material strategy with certified non-toxic materials and recyclable materials.
biophilia in gym interiors
Throughout the gym are real green trees and plants - biophilia. According to Science Daily, “People in industrialized countries spend more than 80% of their lives indoors, increasingly in airtight buildings”.
Here the use of living plants helps absorb toxins from the gym’s indoor air (always an issue in our experience - many gyms have very poor indoor air quality) whilst providing a welcome dose of positive, uplifting biophilia.
energy efficiency and clean energy at gold’s gym
A generally open floor plan includes a ‘Green Power’ area with 150 spin bikes that generate electricity through their use. The issue here, in our experience, can be that the quantity of clean energy that is consistently pumped back into the grid from these spin bikes compared to the facility’s overall energy requirements is minimal.
In this instance there are three times as many bikes as a regular spinning studio, which increases the potential energy generation clearly, it will be fascinating to see how much use they all receive and what role the bikes have in off-setting the gym’s energy use.
The Gold’s Gym Milano site meanwhile deploys photovoltaic panels on its rooftop and runs off green energy, according to its website.
A lack of sustainabILITy FOR GOLDS gym equipment - but who’s fault is it?
That strength training gym equipment was provided by premium German brand GYM80 that is known for its multiple customization options, upscale pricing, gym branding stitched into the upholstery, Made In Germany quality and the heaviest of weights, including a 330lbs set of gold dumbbells - for the really big boys in front of their mirrors!
Here though, we come to one initial weak point in the gym’s sustainability credentials as GYM80 does not appear to have a sustainability policy or consider its environmental impact, at least not as expressed publicly via its website. So the Golds Gym machines do at least purchase by product code from a local supplier, which still has its merit.
As a German gym, using a German gym equipment manufacturer makes complete sense but within the context of a LEED Platinum building, we can’t help but notice that there was a compromise made here in favour of the Gold’s Gym bodybuilding concept (rather than sourcing from a sustainable supplier) - this can be at least partly explained by the relatively scarce options for truly sustainable gym equipment brands however.
indoor air quality in gold’s gym
The Milan gym site boasts of advanced indoor air purification (presumably via HVAC filters and a non-toxic interior fit-out materials policy) combined with air purifying plants.
Gyms tend not to consider their Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) a priority but once engaged with LEED certification it becomes an essential building block in creating a healthy indoor environment for gym goers.
outdoor gym design
Outside the gym, an outdoor gym design area called ‘Muscle Park’ includes space for natural movement and mobility training as well as more strength machines!
Post-Covid an outdoor gym area has become an essential component in any premium gym’s facility offer, especially those with a sustainability plan as it allows for training in the fresh air, with views of nature, or at least the sky above!
sustainable waste and water efficiency policies at gyms
The Gold’s Gym location in Berlin describes itself as “the greenest gym in the world” for its eco gym design. When we run it through our Biofit Sustainable Gym Model, there are some areas with missing publicly available data, such as waste reduction measures, water efficiency.
Given that the project has gone through the LEED certification process, we suspect this is all being implemented - albeit not talked about publicly as it is arguably less ‘sexy’ marketing material.
For completeness however, waste efficiency measures in a sustainable gym would include monitoring and controlling waste through on-site recycling, waste management staff training to ensure adequate awareness of the theme, the use of recycled and salvaged materials wherever possible in the operations phase, and industry benchmarking.
A water efficiency plan for gyms meanwhile would likely include the use recycled water or rainwater harvesting for use in greywater, low-flow fixtures in the bathrooms, and local climate evaluations to understand rainwater runoff levels, adequate low-water or no-water irrigation systems for outdoor landscaping.
Contact us to discuss your sustainable gym consultant project