How local authorities can approach decarbonisation, reduce energy demand, phase investment and deliver net zero across complex, high-energy estates.
Decarbonising leisure centres is no longer a future ambition for local authorities. It’s an operational necessity. Rising energy costs, ageing infrastructure and tightening carbon targets are forcing estates teams to act.
But while the what is becoming clearer, the how remains a challenge.
Most local authorities aren’t working with a single building. They’re managing complex estates, multiple leisure centres, competing priorities and constrained budgets. In this environment, a traditional “roadmap” isn’t enough.
What’s needed is a staged approach to delivery; one that prioritises action, reduces risk and builds momentum over time.
Why a staged approach to decarbonisation matters
Many decarbonisation strategies fail not because they are wrong, but because they are delivered in the wrong order.
Across leisure estates, we often see:
- Renewable technologies installed before reducing energy demand
- New plant added without fixing underlying control issues
- Capital investment made without a clear performance baseline
The result is underperformance, poor return on investment, and missed opportunities.
This reflects a wider issue across estates management – when energy, carbon and cost are treated separately, outcomes rarely align. In reality, reducing energy demand is the foundation for both lowering emissions and controlling operational spend, something explored further in our blog on how carbon reduction aligns with operational cost.
Start with the estate, not the building
One of the biggest mistakes local authorities make is treating each leisure centre as a standalone project.
In practice, the greatest value comes from thinking at estate level.
This means asking:
- Which sites are the most energy-intensive?
- Where are the biggest inefficiencies?
- Which buildings offer the quickest return on intervention?
- Can one site act as a pilot for the wider estate?
By taking this view, local authorities can:
- Prioritise investment where it will have the greatest impact
- Test and refine approaches before scaling
- Avoid fragmented, inconsistent upgrades across sites
A staged transition is not just about what happens within a building, but how improvements are rolled out across an entire portfolio.
Stage 1: Identify waste and prioritise action
Before any investment decisions are made, estates teams need visibility.
Energy audits and performance data reveal:
- Where energy is being wasted
- Which systems are driving cost and carbon
- How buildings are actually being used
In leisure centres, this often highlights a familiar pattern:
- Pool systems operating a maximum demand regardless mitigating environmental factors
- Ventilation operating at fixed rates
- Heating and cooling overlapping unnecessarily
These inefficiencies create both avoidable emissions and avoidable cost – a direct link highlighted in the relationship between carbon and operational expenditure .
At this stage, the goal is simple: find the waste and rank the opportunities.
Stage 2: Scale quick wins across the estate
Rather than jumping straight into capital projects, the next step is to implement low-cost, high-impact improvements across multiple sites.
These typically include:
- BMS schedule optimisation
- Lighting upgrades and controls
- Setpoint adjustments
- Maintenance-led efficiency improvements
- Site team awareness and education
The key here is scale, not perfection.
Understanding where to begin is key. If you’re unsure how to balance immediate improvements with future upgrades, we explore this in more detail in our guide to quick wins vs long-term investment for leisure centres.
Rolling out these improvements across an estate delivers immediate value, while also challenging the common misconception that sustainability requires significant upfront investment — a myth we address in our blog on common misconceptions around sustainability costs.
Stage 3: Use data to guide deeper intervention
Once quick wins are in place, estates teams are in a much stronger position.
They now have:
- Real performance data
- Evidence of savings
- A clearer understanding of system behaviour
This is the point where strategy becomes more targeted.
Instead of broad assumptions, decisions can now be based on:
- Which sites still underperform
- Which systems are limiting efficiency
- Where additional investment will deliver the greatest return
This transition – from assumption-led to data-led decision making – is critical to long-term success.
Stage 4: Invest where it matters most
With a clear evidence base, capital investment becomes more effective.
Rather than blanket upgrades, local authorities can focus on:
- High-impact sites
- Critical systems (e.g. pool heating, ventilation)
- Technologies that align with actual demand
This may include:
- Heat pump deployment
- Solar PV and battery storage
- Heat recovery systems
- Advanced controls and integration
Importantly, by addressing inefficiencies first, these technologies can be:
- Correctly sized
- Properly integrated
- Financially viable
Without this sequencing, organisations risk embedding inefficiency into new infrastructure.
Stage 5: Build a continuous improvement model
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of energy transition is what happens after implementation.
Decarbonisation is not a one-off programme – it’s an ongoing process.
The most effective local authorities:
- Continuously monitor performance
- Regularly refine system operation
- Align maintenance with energy outcomes
- Use data to drive incremental improvements
Over time, these incremental changes compound into significant gains. This is where sustainability begins to deliver broader organisational benefits, something we explore further in our blog on how sustainability creates long-term value across estates.
What happens if you skip the stages?
It’s worth being clear: skipping stages doesn’t accelerate progress – it undermines it.
Common pitfalls include:
- Installing renewables before reducing demand: reduced ROI
- Upgrading plant without optimising controls: persistent inefficiency
- Investing without data: misaligned priorities
- Treating sites individually: inconsistent estate performance
These challenges are often rooted in the same issue: acting too quickly without understanding performance.
A staged approach avoids this by aligning investment with evidence and outcomes.
A financial strategy, not just a sustainability plan
For local authorities, this approach is as much about financial control as it is about carbon reduction.
By sequencing delivery:
- Early savings help fund later stages
- Risk is spread over time
- Investment decisions become more defensible
- Budget constraints become more manageable
This is particularly important in the current climate, where capital funding is limited and scrutiny on spend is high.
A staged approach turns decarbonisation into a self-supporting strategy, rather than a one-off cost.
Bringing it all together
The transition to low-carbon leisure estates doesn’t happen through isolated projects or one-time investment.
It happens through:
- Understanding performance
- Acting on inefficiencies
- Scaling improvements
- Investing strategically
- Continuously refining outcomes
In short, it’s about doing the right things, in the right order.
Every leisure estate is different – but the principle remains the same: sequencing drives success.
DMA Group works with local authorities to develop staged, data-led energy strategies that prioritise impact, reduce cost and deliver measurable carbon reduction across entire estates.
If you’re looking to move from ambition to action, a staged approach is where it starts.
