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Project Litefoot Trust
Helping sports clubs improve their environmental
footprint and their bottom line
WAIKATO
WATER SAVED
610,000
LITRES
The benefits Project Litefoot Trust creates for sports
clubs are substantial, but the Trust’s work also
generates further social and environmental benefits
for the community.
The source of all this good work is LiteClub, a service
for which sports clubs can register. After a sports club
has registered, a dedicated LiteClub team visits the
club’s premises to install energy efficient light bulbs,
insulate hot water cylinders and pipes, install water
saving devices, and set up sorting bins for the club’s
recycling and waste. All for free!
Dan Kelly, Project Litefoot’s marketing and planning
eco designer, says the impetus for the work came
from an insight shared between Litefoot co-founders
pro golfer Michael Campbell and brand consultant
Hamish Reid. Both felt that environmental issues
needed to be improved and that sports heroes could
be instrumental in achieving this. The hypothesis was
tested and Project Litefoot was formed.
Seven top sports people were recruited as Litefoot
ambassadors, and their footprints measured by
Landcare Research. The ambassadors compete to see
who can reduce their footprint the most, but all have
made substantial gains.
Litefoot’s next step was to reach out to the broader
sports community and in 2011 the LiteClub
programme was launched.
Although the energy savings may seem small, Litefoot
is living proof of the maxim that ‘great things come
from small beginnings’. The Trust estimates that the
changes it has implemented will save in excess of
$2.4million for the 395 clubs in its programme to date.
That’s all extra money that sports clubs can redirect
into their core activities.
The Trust also estimates its activities have prevented
over 2,105 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering
the atmosphere, saved millions of litres of water and
diverted huge amounts of waste from landfill. Then
there are the community benefits. Part of LiteClub’s
approach is to try to extend its influence beyond the
bounds of the club and into the homes of members.
LiteClub teams have visited 20 Waikato sports clubs,
saving more than $96,451 in energy costs, 610,000
litres of water a year, and 56 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Not bad for a few light-bulbs! In the words of the
Trust’s co-founder and golfer Michael Campbell, “If
we all do a little, together we can achieve a lot.”
$8,000
TRUST WAIKATO DONATION 2013
WAIKATO SAVINGS
$96,451
SAVINGS IN THE WAIKATO
($2.4M IN NZ)
LiteClub team members helping sports clubs in the Waikato
