The Aloft Portland Airport was awarded Green Seal Certifi cation in January 2011fuius
cent less electricity than regular machines and compact fl uorescent lighting. It’s the energy-producing car- dio equipment that makes it really unusual though – the gym’s exer- cise machines are fi tted with small generators, meaning that members’ workouts generate electricity which is used to help power the televisions, stereos, lights and fans.
The company was established in 2007 by Adam Boesel, who wanted to see if the idea of creating electric- ity by exercising could be used in a mainstream gym setting. “I wanted to provide a legitimately green alternative to fi tness facilities, which are tradition- ally not eco-friendly,” says Boesel. “I also thought it would be a fun career and an interesting challenge.” In 2010, according to the company website, the Green Microgym gener- ated 36 per cent of its own electricity by combining human and solar power, and saved 37,000 Kilowatt hours or 85 per cent (compared to traditional gyms per square foot). Typical gym
ISSUE 3 2012 © cybertrek 2012
users generate between 50 – 150 watts of power during their workout. Boesel admits that the energy pro- duced by the exercise machines accounts for just a small percent- age of the building’s total energy needs, but says “the equipment is one part of a comprehensive system of doing everything as green as pos- sible, understanding that ‘green’ is an aspiration as well as a destination.” While, others have pointed out that the payback period on this type of equip- ment can be up to two or three times the lifespan of the average machine, Boesel is not worried.
“This isn't solar panels on the top of your house where you have to look at return on investment that way,” he says. “This is altering exercise equip- ment to be more ecologically friendly.
if you have the right perspective.” Members also earn points by work- ing out, which they can use to get money off products at local stores. The gym uses PlugOut spin bikes, PlugOut Ellipticals and PlugOut Recumbant Bikes, all developed by Seattle-based company PlugOut Fitness, manufacturers and suppliers of electricity-producing cardio equip- ment (co-founded by Boesel).
SUSTAINABLE HOTELS I
would have had to buy it anyway for my gym, so for about the same price as new, I can purchase remanufactured equipment, and retrofi t it with PlugOut technology and make the world a bet- ter place. It's an easy choice to make
In February, The Courtyard by Marriott in Portland’s city centre became the fi rst Gold LEED-certifi ed hotel in the Pacifi c Northwest, and one of just 15 in the whole of the US. All of the hotel’s electricity comes from renew- able sources, 77 per cent of waste is composted or recycled and the hotel is reducing its carbon footprint by using 28 per cent less energy than is nor- mally used in a building of its size. The Aloft Portland Airport hotel has also won awards for its green efforts, which include its Bike and Fly pro-
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