What is LEED certification for sustainable green gyms, health clubs & sports centres?

Developed by the non-profit organisation named U.S. Green Building Council, LEED certification is a “green building” certification program for the real estate industry. 

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and it is an internationally recognized sustainable building certification - essentially a rating system for the construction, design, maintenance and operations of environmentally responsible buildings.

Projects align with one of a number of certification pathways: Building Design & Construction (BD&C), Operations & Maintenance (O&M), Interior Design & Construction (ID&C), Homes and Neighborhood Development (ND).

There are six main credit categories within each pathway: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation & Regional Priority.

The goals of LEED certified sports, health and fitness buildings therefore include:

• Energy savings 

• Water efficiency 

• CO2 emissions reduction

• Improved Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) 

• Stewardship of natural resources and the sensitivity to their impacts 

Certification levels are Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59), Gold (60-79) and Platinum (80+).

We are especially interested in how these rigorous standards in sustainable buildings and interiors can potentially be applied to the health & fitness sector, in particular to gyms, health clubs and sports complexes. It is a mission we aim to help with via our own sustainability consultancy services for the gym, fitness and sports sectors.

what type of gym, fitness centre or sports complex does LEED certification apply to?

What has to be pointed out upfront is that LEED’s extensive remit, and yes the additional costs of sustainability consultants combined with the certification fees, really fit best with larger scale projects with more budget, as per the examples below.

In other words, you do not find any smaller scale, independent, fitness coach-owned gyms, fitness studios or CrossFit boxes in this list because the green building certification is simply of less relevance, or strategic importance to them - their focus is likely on reducing costs and getting to operating profit as quickly as possible. Baking in sustainability costs to a launch budget as well is likely asking too much of all but the most well-funded gym or health club projects. That is the harsh reality.

A larger institution such as an American university or well-funded, international thermal spa resort on the other hand comes with its own pre-existing sustainability strategy meaning a new-build construction project for a fitness centre, spa resort or sports stadium will need to align with those wider strategic goals, in which case committing to LEED green building certification is a given. And of course, they have the necessary funding too!

SOLDIER FIELD- LEED Certified - Sustainability - Sports stadium - green roof

The Soldier Field is the oldest football stadium in the US and is currently home to the Chicago Bears. Back in 2012 the stadium received the highest level of LEED Certification for sustainable buildings as a LEED Platinum certified sports complex.

This certification was the result of a 20-month rebuild and renovation that modernized the stadium and its surroundings courtesy of the Goettsch Partners architecture studio in Chicago, responsible for the masterplan and North Burnham Park project.

Before the renovation, the stadium was surrounded by 66 acres of parking lot. With the new design, a sustainable approach was taken to create a more biophilic area that integrates with nature.

Hoerr Schaudt, lead landscape architect discussed their unique green roof approach:

“While previous generations of Chicago Bears fans trooped to Soldier Field through a vast sea of cars, our design sinks the stadium’s parking beneath a nine-acre green roof and uses sculpted landforms to surround Soldier Field with seventeen acres of parkland.

The new green space includes a Children’s Garden, winter sledding hill – a place from which to take in the skyline – and connections to three adjacent cultural institutions.”

This new design hid the 66 acres with a green roof that was constructed out of 100% recyclable and eco-friendly geofoam. Geofoam was also used for the stadium’s construction for waterproofing and insulation. Soldier Field’s use of this material was a key milestone in the development of green roofs and geofoam.

Within the stadium, there were many changes too as part of the new sustainability plan such as implementing a natural turf, and to this day it remains one of the only stadiums that continue its use.

This is complemented by a robust recycling policy for all cardboard, aluminum, plastic bottles, office paper, light bulbs, batteries, lost cell phones, and eyeglasses found on site. The field also provides free electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lots below the green roof.

Kline Fitness Center - sustainable gym example

The sustainable Kline Fitness Center belongs to Dickinson College, located in Carlisle Pennsylvania. The College prides itself on their efforts in sustainability as the Kline Fitness Center marks their sixth LEED Gold building on the school’s campus, and the 7th LEED certified project.

Constructed by Wagman Construction Inc in accordance with the LEED standards this is a unique build with an aesthetic design that employs operable domed skylights for natural light and fresh air.

Sustainable gym building design features include sustainable FSC certified wood, a detailed green procurement policy on all materials’ recyclability, outdoor air delivery (through domed skylights), and off-site waste sorting (to combat construction waste). 

The building also employs a number of sustainable, eco-friendly design features such as a sunscreen system (panels that offer sun protection to the interior) full building automation for automatic centralized control of a building HVAC, electrical, lighting shading, access control, and security, as well as storm weather management, thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roofing system that is made with natural rubber (x2 times stronger than other roofing alternatives because it can withstand higher temperatures during the welding process), and gym flooring made from recycled rubber. 

Therme Bucharest - sustainable wellness resort - LEED Platinum

Billing itself as ‘the world’s first fully sustainable thermal spa resort’, the Therme Group’s LEED Platinum certification for its geothermal wellness project, Therme Bucharest, set the stage for what would become a series of such sustainable building design achievements from what is surely one of the most innovative and forward-thinking leisure facility groups in the world today.

We have previously had the pleasure of speaking with the COO of Therme Group UK, Mr James Mark, for our Green & Healthy Places podcast - listen to that episode here.

Their outpost in the Romanian capital deployed advanced building energy management systems and geothermal water to boost its sustainability credentials. A little online research brings up their LEED scorecard, allowing us to see how they performed.

This sustainable spa resort project was especially strong on the LEED Water Efficiency credits, scoring 10/10. Their efforts in on-site renewable energy and energy optimization performance in the Energy Efficiency category also helped put them on course for the Platinum award.

In the Sustainable Sites category they were rewarded for choosing a site with plenty of public transport options, bicycle storage and provisions for low emitting vehicle parking.