The Bankstown District Sports Club in Sydney's south west spent $2 million upgrading its chillers which has led to significant savings across the entire organisation.
The club's CEO, Mark Condi, said the organisation began its sustainability journey in 2013 with a $13 million makeover of the gaming room floor.
“This involved the introduction of LED lights, sub-metering, water saving devices, a recycling program and most importantly a big cultural shift across the organisation,” he said.
“The club has also reduced landfill by 24 tonnes per month.”
With revenue of more than $100 million per year and over 550 staff, the Bankstown Sports Club invests $2 million per year in junior sport and has over 65,000 members.
Condi said the club secured a loan from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Commonwealth Bank under a joint program to encourage energy efficient upgrades.
“The loan allowed us to focus on the project not the funding,” he said.
“Our new chiller is 50 per cent more efficient and last year we generated $800,000 in savings as a result of our sustainability initiatives.
“There is still more work to do with plans now underway to extend the club by an additional four storeys.”
Energetics associate, Roger Horwood, said there has never been a more critical time for businesses to seek out power savings.
“Electricity prices have doubled in the last five years and are only now beginning to stabilise,” he said.
“Gas prices are now in the process of doubling over the next two to three years.
“Energy efficiency projects have never been more attractive and they are a worthwhile investment.”
Energetics negotiates more than $1.5 billion worth of energy contracts each year for its clients and is currently working on Emission Reduction Fund (ERF) contracts.
The CEFC has already invested over $130 million, contributing to projects worth over $600 million, in the state of NSW.
It has identified a further $1 billion in investment opportunities for CEFC finance that would help accelerate more than $4 billion in projects across the state.
The CEFC identified strong growth in NSW for renewables, distributed energy and battery storage, and energy efficient technologies.