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At EMD UK, we believe that healthy people need a healthy planet.
As part of a growing commitment across UK sport and physical activity, we are taking action to help create a more sustainable future for our sector, our communities and the environment.
This isn’t just about reducing emissions but about protecting the places where we move, connect and thrive. Small actions from us all now ensure we can continue to enjoy the physical, mental and social benefits of exercise.
Extreme weather, from rising temperatures to flooding, puts excessive pressure on parks, green spaces and community facilities. These spaces, essential to many instructors and participants, are increasingly at risk of disruptions that may affect the timing, location, and manner of group exercise.
As the national governing body for group exercise, we recognise that we have a role to play.
Through our Sustainability Action Plan, we are committed to making more sustainable choices as an organisation, supporting our members to do the same, and sharing practical actions that can make a positive difference. We want to build understanding, confidence and capability across our workforce so that sustainability feels relevant, achievable and connected to the communities we serve.
We know that meaningful change happens one step at a time. By working together with our members, staff, partners and the wider sport and physical activity sector, we can help create a future that supports both healthy people and a healthy planet.
Our Sustainability Action Plan has been designed with four key areas of focus to help us commit to sustainable choices as an organisation, support our members, and encourage meaningful change in the wider community.
This action plan has been influenced by the Sport England maturity tool and all actions will be reviewed against it to identify future areas of development and expansion.
Action 1: Measure
By March 2027, we will measure our current baseline and establish a process where the option with the lowest carbon footprint is the default choice when booking travel, accommodation and catering arrangements for meetings and events
Action 2: Reassess
By September 2027, and every 6 months onwards, we will measure travel, accommodation and catering choices against our baseline to assess our progress in reducing our carbon footprint.
Action 3: Plant
By March 2028, we will provide an opportunity for tree planting or tree contribution activities through our staff or membership activities to offset our own emissions and, to make a positive impact.
Action 1: Sustainable Procurement
By March 2027, we will measure sustainability as a weighted consideration in our procurement tender process.
Action 2: Policy Update
By March 2027, we will review and update our finance and AI policies to reflect our sustainability commitments.
Action 3: Sustainable Supply
By March 2027, we will supply staff with alternative, more sustainable supplier options for meeting our day-to-day office needs.
Action 1: Advice and Guidance
By May 2027, we will create and share guidance, resources and checklists for environmentally sustainable classes that support and improve local parks and wildlife.
Action 2: Governance
By June 2027, we will update the EMD UK Code of Conduct to ensure that outdoor classes adhere to basic governed rules in relation to the care of outdoor spaces.
Action 3: Community Spotlight
By March 2028, we will showcase good practice from across our membership and wider sector in the form of case studies to influence and inspire positive commitment to environmental sustainability.
Action 1: Staff Training
By July 2026, all staff will complete economic sustainability training with Climate Fresk to support a foundational understanding of ‘why’ in the next stages of this action plan.
Action 2: Increased Knowledge
From September 2026 onwards, staff will continue to develop their specialist knowledge in environmental sustainability. One sustainability lead will attend the BASIS Sustainable Sport Conference annually.
Action 3: Staff Activity
By September 2027, we ensure sustainability features as a key component on our Employee Intranet, paying particular attention to sustainable travel, accommodation, and work from home recommendations.
We recognise our responsibility to both minimise negative environmental impact and to contribute positively to a more sustainable future. Our 2024 annual greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) report helps us understand where our emissions originate and provides a clear baseline for measuring progress. It therefore also helps us identify priority areas for improvement and focus our sustainability actions.
Our carbon footprint for 2024 was 21.50 tCO₂e. As a remote-working organisation, we know that our environmental impact is influenced by how we travel, work from home, and come together as a team. Our Sustainability Action Plan sets out practical steps to reduce emissions associated with travel, accommodation, home working and catering. By taking a measured, evidence-based approach, we now aim to further reduce our carbon footprint while continuing to deliver high-quality services to the sector.
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