Off The Field: Climate Leadership in Community Aquatic Infrastructure - YMCA Aquatic & Event Services Ltd

YMCA Aquatic & Event Services Ltd (YAESL) operates two of South Australia’s most significant community sport assets, the South Australian Aquatic & Leisure Centre (SAALC) and the Adelaide Aquatic Centre (AAC).

Together, these facilities represent more than $250 million in community sport infrastructure, generate over $40 million in annual economic activity, and welcome around 2.6 million visits every year.

Aquatic centres are among the most energy-intensive pieces of community infrastructure in any city. Heating pools, maintaining air quality, ventilating large indoor spaces and running filtration systems require significant energy and water use.

For YAESL, that reality places aquatic facilities directly at the intersection of sport participation and environmental responsibility.

Their view is simple: if community sport infrastructure is going to support healthier communities and growing participation, it must also become climate-ready.

The organisation and its sustainability approach

YAESL is transitioning its aquatic facilities toward a science-based decarbonisation pathway aligned with a 1.5-degree climate trajectory.

The organisation has committed to:

• Establishing a full greenhouse gas inventory across Scope 1, Scope 2 and priority Scope 3 emissions

• Achieving 50% operational emissions reduction by 2030

• Delivering net-zero operational emissions by 2040

• Electrifying plant systems by replacing gas heating with high-efficiency heat pumps

• Expanding solar generation and renewable electricity sourcing

• Using advanced Building Management Systems to optimise energy use in real time

At the centre of this work is YAESL’s Climate Ambition Action Plan, developed for both SAALC and the Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

The plan establishes clear emissions baselines, reduction milestones and governance frameworks - embedding sustainability into everyday operational decision-making rather than treating it as a separate initiative.

As General Manager Adam Luscombe explains:

“Sustainability isn’t a communications exercise. It’s about measurable operational change such as reducing emissions, reducing waste, and ensuring facilities remain affordable and resilient for future generations.”

Facilities like SAALC and AAC play a critical role in the community. Teaching children to swim, supporting Olympic and Paralympic pathways, hosting community sport and providing spaces for rehabilitation, health and social connection.

Because they operate year-round and serve millions of visitors, they also provide an opportunity to demonstrate what practical sustainability in community sport infrastructure looks like.

The initiative making an impact

A key initiative YAESL is particularly proud of is its Climate Ambition Action Plan for both aquatic centres.

The goal is to transition two of Australia’s largest aquatic facilities into national benchmarks for low-carbon aquatic operations.

The process began with something often missing in sports infrastructure. Clear measurement.

YAESL established detailed emissions baselines, integrated energy monitoring into facility management systems, and created a structured implementation plan with measurable milestones across 3, 6, 12 and 24 months.

Key elements of the plan include:

• Progressive electrification of plant systems

• Solar expansion and renewable energy integration

• Waste reduction and circular economy programs targeting 90% waste diversion from landfill

• Climate considerations embedded into procurement and supplier engagement

• Board-level governance and accountability for climate performance

The plan targets measurable outcomes, including:

• 10–15% emissions reduction within the first 12 months

• A 25% reduction trajectory within 24 months

• Achieving the organisation’s 50% reduction target by 2030

Delivering this transition has required strong collaboration.

Support from the South Australian Government, particularly the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing, has helped align sustainability ambition with operational realities.

But perhaps the most significant change has been cultural.

Sustainability is now embedded into staff induction, facility operations, procurement decisions and community education, ensuring environmental responsibility becomes part of everyday decision-making.

What they’re seeing on the ground

YAESL is already seeing climate impacts affect sport participation and facility operations.

In South Australia, extreme heat days are increasing, and aquatic centres are often one of the few safe places where communities can remain active during these conditions.

During heat events, facilities regularly experience:

• surges in visitation

• increased demand for shaded outdoor areas

• greater pressure on cooling systems and water use

• operational challenges around lifeguarding and heat safety

At the same time, maintaining indoor air quality and pool temperatures during heatwaves requires additional energy. This leads to increasing operating costs and system demand.

In response, YAESL is focusing on three key priorities.

Climate-resilient infrastructure
Facilities must be designed for greater temperature variability, with improved ventilation systems and efficient electrified heating technologies.

Smarter operational data
Real-time monitoring allows plant systems to respond to occupancy levels, weather forecasts and energy pricing.

Community safety and access
Aquatic centres are increasingly becoming essential community infrastructure — providing cooling spaces, water safety education and vital health programs during extreme heat events.

In many ways, aquatic centres are becoming part of cities’ climate adaptation infrastructure.

The future of sustainable sport

Looking ahead, YAESL believes sustainable sport will increasingly be defined by how infrastructure is designed, powered and operated, rather than individual environmental initiatives.

For aquatic facilities, that future includes several key shifts.

Net-zero ready facilities

New aquatic centres should be designed from the outset with electrified plant systems, renewable energy integration and highly efficient water management.

Whole-of-life carbon thinking

Infrastructure projects will need to consider both operational emissions and the embodied carbon of construction materials.

Transparent environmental data

Facilities should be able to report metrics such as emissions per visitor, energy intensity per square metre and waste diversion rates, using data to guide ongoing improvement.

Stronger partnerships

Achieving climate-ready sport infrastructure will require collaboration between governments, sporting organisations, infrastructure agencies, community operators and suppliers.

Ultimately, sustainable sport must remain inclusive and accessible.

Participation is the core purpose of community sport. The challenge for the coming decade is ensuring facilities reduce their environmental footprint while still delivering the social outcomes they were built for; healthier communities, safer water skills and places where people connect.

Facilities like the South Australian Aquatic & Leisure Centre and Adelaide Aquatic Centre demonstrate that participation, performance sport and climate leadership can move forward together.