Over the past twelve months, the Trust has been working to achieve greater sustainability, particularly around energy efficiency, to help safeguard our facilities.

The soaring cost of energy has been felt across the Trust but none more so that in our sports centres, particularly the cost of heating our swimming pools.  We have been successful in securing funding for solar panels which have been installed at each of our sports centres, and Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr learning action centres.  The installation of the solar panels will help mitigate our reliance on gas which will, in turn, help us to maintain these essential community assets.

Whilst we continue to explore additional funding to make our facilities more energy efficient, including upgrading the plant room at Abertillery sports centre, a new air handling unit at Tredegar sports centre and space heating units across all the sports centres, each of the sites within the Trust’s management are implementing measures to improve our sustainability and reduce our environmental impact.

Some examples include:

• Reduced paper use and paperless where possible across all sites through the implementation of Microsoft Office 360

• Encouraging users of our facilities to engage with technology including BorrowBox in the libraries and the Aneurin Leisure Trust app to make bookings at the sports centres

• Using local suppliers wherever possible, ensuring we are providing the best value to our members and visitors

• An emphasis on recycling both to visitors and staff.  In the past twelve months we have collected 39 tonnes of waste, diverting 100% of our waste away from landfill of which 23% was recycled, and over 9,000 kgs of carbon has been saved, equating to the planting of 31 trees, taking three cars off the road and heating 6 houses

We are committed to maintaining and improving our facilities for the community across Blaenau Gwent and will continue to explore ways in which each of sites can be more environmentally sustainable.