From energy and water use to building and interior décor materials to cleaning supplies and more, most fitness facilities and spas could use an eco-conscious makeover. With a little innovation and a bit of perspiration, these types of businesses easily could reduce their ecological footprints while at the same time attracting eco-minded clientele almost immediately and saving money over the long run.

According to Mary Bemis, founder and editor in chief of Organic Spa magazine, a number of spas around the country are going green. Some spas recycle everything from kitchen waste to paper, while others use exclusively organic skin-care products. Some spas use robes, slippers and towels made from natural fibers such as organic cotton and bamboo. The most progressive spas heat their spaces with geothermal energy, which is produced by converting hot water or steam that comes from deep within the earth's interior into electricity. Some spas are integrating these heating changes little by little, building on to their core structures with suites that use environmentally-friendly practices. If successful, they plan to eventually make all of their rooms green.

Most fitness facilities and spas in Northeast Ohio could strengthen their eco-conscious efforts, perhaps by taking some pointers from local, national and international forerunners to make strides in becoming more environmentally friendly. Although some businesses go to severe measures, health clubs need not be that extreme in their quest to offer amenities while demonstrating an environmental conscientiousness.

California Fitness
Hong Kong, China
California Fitness has turned its stationary bikes into miniature power plants. By pedaling them, clients generate electricity for the lights and television sets in the club. Gym floors generate electricity whenever someone steps on them, allowing aerobics classes to harvest electricity as well as build fitness. (www.CaliforniaFitness.com)

 

Evolution Yoga
Woodmere, Ohio
Sandy Gross, founder and director of Evolution Yoga, credits her grandmother with raising her environmental consciousness. She thoroughly researched her choices before proceeding with building and design plans for her studio, Evolution Yoga. The walls of the studio are painted with a paint containing only a few volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Gross steers clear of VOC paints because the organic compounds react with other chemicals in the air to form ozone, a pollutant present in the lower atmosphere. The studio also uses cleaning products that are natural rather than those synthesized from chemicals. Derived from plants, the natural cleaning products biodegrade quickly and are hypoallergenic, containing no common allergens such as perfume, dyes, formaldehyde or ammonia.

The floors of Evolution Yoga's studio are covered with cork imported from Portugal where legislation protects cork trees from destruction. Using only its exterior, the processing of the cork does not injure the tree by digging into its core. This source of cork is renewable because the cork trees continue to grow (some of these trees live more than a century), providing a continuous harvest of cork. In addition, the cork has anti-microbial agents and kills bacteria that might otherwise thrive on other types of flooring. Also, the Tambour carpet in the studio meets the standards set for indoor air quality by the carpet and rug institutes.

Around the lobby and studio, Gross has arranged potted bamboo plants. In addition to complementing the décor, bamboo releases 35 percent more oxygen than any other tree and absorbs literally tons of carbon dioxide. But bamboo is more than an environmentally friendly tree. “Traditional belief,” says Gross, “holds that being in a bamboo grove – the favorite dwelling place of Buddha – restores calmness to emotions and stimulates creativity.” (www.EvoYoga.com)

Gimnasio Ecologico Lumen
Valdespino de Somoza, Spain
The ultimate environmental friendliness, the Gimnasio Ecologico Lumen health club lies in a rugged region of Spain inhabited by only 900 people. Over the course of three years, physical-education teacher Manuel de Arriba Ares created the health club – perhaps one should call it an outdoor gym – with his own hands. Ares hewed the gym from the surrounding trees using only a hammer, saw, pickaxe and a hand-cranked drill. The result? Dumbbells made of wood rather than iron, and outdoor trails for cyclists, joggers and walkers. Because the gym is outdoors, there is no need to lavish money and energy on climate control. The gym uses no energy and does not spew pollutants into the air. It produces no waste and so does not degrade the environment.

Summit Health + Fitness
Bedford, Massachusetts
Summit Health + Fitness equips its locker rooms with sensors that ration the use of water and paper towels. Limiting the amount of paper towels is not only an environmentally conscious effort; limiting the trash in receptacles decreases the amount of germs. Summit also uses fluorescent lights, which produce less heat and use less energy than incandescent lights. The health club has covered its floors with recycled rubber. Likewise, rugs throughout the club are made of recycled fibers. (www.SummitHealthAndFitness.com)

White Bear Racquet and Swim
White Bear Lake, Minnesota
White Bear Racquet and Swim reduces electricity in both lighting and heating. The solar light bulbs used produce light directly from the sun, and ground-source heating technology transfers heat from the earth to an indoor tennis court in winter to heat it and from the tennis court to earth in summer to cool it. Due to the toxicity to the environment of chlorine, the club no longer chlorinates its pool. Instead, White Bear adds salt to its pool at half the concentration of human tears. The brine kills germs and its disposal does not harm the environment. White Bear also entices its clients to be green by discounting their price of beverages by 15 cents if they use their own cups. (www.WBfit.com)

When you visit your fitness facility or a spa, inquire about its eco-conscious efforts. Make your interests known by speaking with owners or managers. Support places that integrate green measures. Above all, do what you can to reduce the ecological footprint of your workout. For example, use a refillable water bottle instead of a prepackaged one, take your own towel and wash it at home in environmentally-friendly detergent or take public transportation or ride your bike to the gym. While your ultimate goal may be for a healthy, fit body, you also can help create a healthy, green world.

An avid cyclist, Christopher Cumo has been a member of a local health club for years. He makes his home in Canton, Ohio, along with his wife, two daughters and a shih-tzu.