Environmental sustainability
What impact does your club have on the environment?
In 2022 we at the LTA published our Environmental Sustainability Plan, setting out our ambition to secure a lasting future for tennis in Britain through positive action on climate change and leadership in sustainability.
We want to support the wider tennis community to be more sustainable, in our role as national governing body for tennis in Britain. In doing so we hope to effectively support tennis in Britain in the face of rising energy costs, and changes to the environment.
Does environmental sustainability feature in your overall club strategy or do you regularly discuss sustainability at your management committee meetings?
If not, why not start by stating your club’s position on environmental sustainability publicly. We have a pulled together a statement template as a starter, so please feel free to adopt, adapt and make it your own!
Download statement template
Now you’ve got a policy statement, why not turn this into action.
We’ve created an Environmental Sustainability Action Plan, packed full of ideas you can implement. Just like the policy template, make the plan your own, remove actions, adapt them or create your own.
The UK Government's Simpler Recycling legislation comes into effect 31/3/25 and introduces new waste separation and collection requirements for businesses, impacting operations as follows:
Key Requirements
Waste Separation: Businesses must separate waste into dry recyclables (glass, paper, plastics, metals), food waste, and non-recyclable waste. This is a legal requirement.
Timeline
- March 2025: Businesses with 10+ employees must comply.
- March 2027: All businesses, including smaller ones, must adhere.
Impacts
- Increased Costs: Additional bins, staff training, and waste collection fees.
- Landfill Tax: Higher taxes from April 2025 will penalize non-recyclable waste.
- Fines: Non-compliance may result in penalties.
Benefits
- Reputation Boost: Shows commitment to sustainability.
- Environmental Impact: Contributes to a circular economy.
We recommend that you discuss this legislation with your current waste provider, but the LTA Buying Group are also on hand to talk to any venue (whether you are an existing customer or not) about how this will impact you.
Please send any questions over to support@wasteandwashroom.com and our team will be on hand to help out.
Reducing energy consumption is now a priority for most organisations, including sports clubs and venues. The below guidance has been produced in conjunction with Carbon Control Limited to help venues better procure their energy and understand energy management, so they can make strategic changes and make a sustainable difference.
Tap or click on the below image to open the guide:
Through the LTA Buying Group, we have partnered with Zellar, the digital sustainability coach, to help tennis venues improve their environmental performance.
Just like a great coach helps refine technique, build confidence, and unlock potential on the court, Zellar provides expert guidance to help clubs take control of their sustainability journey—step by step.
Why Join Zellar?
Zellar helps clubs:
- Track and Reduce Emissions - Understand your club’s carbon footprint and take action to reduce it.
- Cut Costs - Reduce energy use by up to 33% and unlock estimated savings of £4,100 per year.
- Simplify Compliance & Reporting - Stay ahead of sustainability regulations with automated reporting tools.
- Get Access to Funding & Green Networks - Receive regular alerts on local funding opportunities and connect with other clubs leading the way.
- Engage Members & Sponsors - Show your club’s sustainability efforts to members, sponsors, and the wider community.
- Invest in the Future - Over £500,000 has already been invested in energy-saving technologies like solar panels and EV charging units through Zellar.
- Prove Your Progress - Every action is recorded at the site level and fed into your club’s sustainability Score, providing a clear picture of your impact.
Ready to Get Started?
Take a tour of the Zellar platform here:
Need another reason to join? LTA Buying Group partner clubs can access an exclusive 10% discount on an annual Zellar licence.
Over 70 tennis and sports clubs have already joined Zellar’s growing community of 1,000+ UK organisations. Together, they’ve made 230 operational changes and completed 350 energy checks, leading to significant cost savings.
If you'd like to implement Zellar at your venue, you can sign up here.
Are you at risk of flooding? Not sure?
Use these templates to help find out whether your facilities could be at risk of flooding and what to do in the event of a flood.
If facilities are at risk, these templates could help you develop a flood plan and highlight other strategies that will help reduce the impact of flooding.
The LTA are working in partnership with GMG, specialists in establishing buying-groups within the sports sector, to harness the collective purchasing power of the LTA Registered Venues to leverage significant discounts across a wide range of goods and services used by tennis clubs.
They can help you in specific areas such as with your electricity & gas (mains and LPG), solar installations, and you refuse collection.
Visit our LTA Buying Group website below for further information:
The LTA Pledgeball Leagues are finished for 2025. Thank you to everyone who took part and made a pledge or entered the league.
We hope to be back in 2026, so keep your eyes peeled for more information both here and in the venue newsletter.
In the meantime, you can catch up on all the action from the 2025 leagues here:
As a sport, we throw away an estimated fifteen million tennis balls each year in GB. Most balls will only be played with for 4-6 hours on court, but each ball can take up to 300 years to degrade in landfill.
We have been looking at solutions to this problem and following successful pilots we would like you to meet our LTA recommended ball recycling services - Circularball.
Circularball, a hubba initiative, recycle the entire ball (cloth and rubber) back into new circular products, right here in the UK.
How it works
Sign up to Circularball and receive a collection bin and empty bags made from recycled plastic which you’ll use to line the bin (one at a time). The 110-litre bin holds roughly 425 balls, and it always stays at your site. When 1 or 6 bags are full you can contact us by phone, email, scan the QR code on the bin, or through our online portal to arrange a collection.
They’ll let you know when they’re coming and send you tracking info if you need it too. On collection they will deliver new empty bags, so you can start over again. From here, your balls will start their circular journey and be made into new products like flooring tiles and sound insulation.
The following information includes funding that has been made available to sport in the UK to help with decarbonisation.
National: Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
House-sized buildings (i.e. smaller grassroots club houses) can apply for a grant for £7.5K towards a heat pump, if they own the building:
Midlands only: Business Energy Advice Service is providing energy saving grants to small businesses
For SMEs in the Midlands, Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS) pilot programme is helping businesses save money and drive growth by providing free energy assessments and 50% match-funded grants.
There is no payback required on the grants, and BEAS is part of a broader government initiative aimed at reducing carbon emissions nationwide.
There are conditions, but it could work for some sports organisations:
Below you'll find some useful resources and templates to help your club be more enviromentally sustainable:
Introduction to Saving Energy - Guidance and Tips for Venues
Explore the below case studies to see how other clubs have followed our advice on environmental sustainability:
- Hoole Tennis Club - 'How Hoole is making a difference in the community with a green agenda'
- Halton Tennis Club - 'The phenomenal success of Halton Project Zero'
- East Glos Club - 'Rallying for a greener future'
- Tennis Wales - 'Five Welsh clubs smashing sustainability'
Share your sustainability highlight
Please complete the fields below to submit your 'Sustainable Tennis Highlight', which will be showcased in our highlights reel.
We hope that celebrating your story will encourage and provide inspiration for other venues to take action to reduce their impact on the environment.
British Association for Sustainable Sport
BASIS (the British Association for Sustainable Sport) has provided expert help to sports clubs, venues, and governing bodies for over a decade – helping you to understand your impact, set targets and implement processes to improve your environmental performance.
Check out their website for all the latest news, guidance, resources, events and training on everything Sustainable Sport:
Sport England Sustainable Facilities
For guidance on embedding environmental sustainability into your facility development plans check out Sport England’s Sustainability pages which include a useful checklist, design guidance and a range of case studies from a variety of sports.
Buddle - Environmental Sustainability
Webinars
Below you can browse through some useful webinars with advice on environmental sustainability.
Share your sustainability highlight
We want to hear your venues' Sustainable Tennis Highlight! Please complete the fields below to submit your story which will be showcased in our highlights reel.
We hope that celebrating your story will encourage and provide inspiration for other venues to take action to reduce their impact on the environment.