Off The Field: Belgravia Leisure and Alexia Morgan
At more than 250 aquatic, recreation and tourism facilities across Australia, Belgravia Leisure sits at the frontline of where sustainability meets everyday community sport.
These are not abstract environments. They are energy-intensive, water-dependent, and essential to the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve. For Alexia Morgan, sustainability isn’t a parallel priority. It’s central to whether these facilities can continue to operate, and remain accessible into the future.
Where sustainability meets operational reality
Aquatic and recreation facilities are among the most resource-intensive assets in the sporting ecosystem. Heating pools, maintaining air quality and managing water systems come with significant cost and increasing pressure.
At Belgravia Leisure, sustainability is approached through a clear lens: operational performance.
Through its internal sustainability programmes, grounded in scientific measurement, benchmarking and system optimisation, the organisation is driving down energy and water use while lifting day-to-day performance across its facilities.
The results are clear and measurable.
Lower utility costs.
More reliable, longer-lasting infrastructure.
A more consistent and comfortable experience for customers.
Reduced risk of unexpected disruptions and closures.
It’s a reminder that in this part of the sector, sustainability isn’t just about environmental outcomes, but about keeping facilities viable, resilient and open for the communities that rely on them.
Turning data into action
One of the most impactful initiatives driving this work is Belgravia Leisure’s Green Road Program.
Designed specifically for aquatic and recreation facilities, the program translates complex data across energy, water, waste and indoor environmental quality, into practical, site-specific improvement plans.
What sets it apart is its grounding in reality. Rather than relying on large-scale capital upgrades, many improvements come from better system tuning, targeted staff training and low-cost operational changes.
It also recognises that meaningful change doesn’t happen in isolation.
Operators, asset owners and facility users are all part of the equation. Bringing those groups together has been critical to driving consistent, long-term improvements across sites. Each program also delivers a clear decarbonisation pathway - identifying key emission sources and setting practical steps toward net zero.
Climate impacts are already here
While sustainability is often framed as a future challenge, the impacts are already being felt on the ground.
Across Belgravia Leisure’s network, extreme weather events are disrupting operations in real time.
Flooding and storms are forcing temporary closures.
Extreme heat is affecting attendance, increasing energy demand and placing additional pressure on staff.
Drought conditions are impacting water management.
The consequences extend beyond infrastructure.
When facilities close, communities lose access to essential health and wellbeing services. Casual staff lose work. Participation drops.
In response, Belgravia Leisure is focusing on adaptation as much as mitigation.
Through its Adaptation Plan, the organisation is identifying and preparing for physical risks, transition risks linked to decarbonisation, and evolving regulatory requirements, ensuring facilities remain safe, functional and accessible in a changing climate.
What sustainable sport looks like next
Looking ahead to 2030 and beyond, the direction is becoming increasingly clear.
Sustainable sport facilities will be low-carbon, climate-resilient and designed with long-term community value in mind. They’ll use data to guide smarter decisions, focus on running efficiently day to day, and embed sustainability into how they operate - not treat it as something separate.
But getting there will take a shift across the sector. It means working more closely together, having clearer benchmarks to guide progress, and moving beyond short-term cost thinking towards longer-term value.
Because sustainability in sport isn’t a nice-to-have, but part of the foundation that everything else relies on.
Building practical pathways for the sector
Recognising the need for more accessible, real-world guidance, Belgravia Leisure is working alongside Monash University and Aquatics and Recreation Victoria to develop a best-practice guide for the industry.
Grounded in data and operational experience, the guide is designed to support venue managers, asset owners and operators to take practical, measurable steps toward sustainability.
Set for release in late 2026, it reflects a broader shift across the sector, from ambition to implementation and at its core, this work reinforces a simple but important idea that sustainability in sport isn’t just about reducing impact - It’s about ensuring the places where sport happens such as community pools, recreation centres, and local facilities can continue to serve the people who depend on them - now, and into the future.