YMCA of the Rockies

Pillar 3:
SustainablePlanet

YMCA Vision 2030

Case Study
A grassroots effort fromyoung leaders helped
YMCA of the Rockies
significantly reduce plastic
waste and save money.

THE CHALLENGE
AT A GLANCEYMCA: YMCA of the RockiesCamp and conference centre
ymcarockies.org
YMCA Alliance: YMCA-USA
Vision 2030 Pillar:
Sustainable Planet
Dates of the project:
September 2020

The plastic wrap initiative began as a grassroots effort
among the staff members. They identified that theYMCA wasted a lot of plastic and money each year bywrapping the towels in single-use plastic to take themto the lodging units.
“Once we got to the units, the towels wereunwrapped, and we just threw away the plastic”, said
YMCA Rockies Vice President of Association
Advancement Carrie Rossman. “The staff identified
that there was a better way”.

THE RESPONSE
The Youth-led Solutions team utilised grant funding
from Y-USA to finance the project.

Snow comes almost a month later andmelts a month earlier than it did 30
years ago. We’re in such a beautiful
location, and it’s sad it may not be thesame in future generations”.
Julie Watkins
CEO, YMCA of the Rockies

The YSL initiative was launched by the World YMCA
to put resources – knowledge, network, and funding– into the hands of young people and to support
their contribution to achieving the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals.
This round of solutions supported projects focusedon climate action. YMCA of the Rockies submitted
for the grant through a youth-led team of employees
and was one of 35 climate action projects across 20
countries to be recognized by the World YMCA at theYouth-Led Solutions Summit: Climate Action in thefall of 2020.

(Continued)

Funds were used to purchase reusable plastic bags.
And that enabled the team to stop using single-use
plastic and to make a lot of progress in reducing
waste and saving money.
Along with covering the cost of reusable storage
options for towels and linen, the grant also allowed
for the purchase of equipment to help housekeeping
staff transport the larger, heavier reusable bundlesof linens to the cabins and lodge rooms.

After

PROJECT OUTCOME
The towel and linen
bundles (above) in their
new bags and transport.
Before (right), all theplastic was thrown away.

BeforeBefore: Across the association from 2017 to 2019, theYMCA of the Rockies consumed over 659 rolls of plastic
wrap costing around USD $77,048, an average of over 219
rolls at over USD $25,682 per year.
219 rolls per year equal 191 miles or 307.3 kilometresof plastic wrap!
After: Upon replacing the plastic wrap used for linens
with reusable bags, YMCA of the Rockies eliminated overa million feet (about 305,000 metres) of plastic wrap
waste and saved tens of thousands of dollars each year.

NOTABLE DETAILS“It doesn’t take much to make adifference. All we did is change theplastic wrap in our department.
And we’ve seen huge benefits
from that as well as a reduction inthe waste we produce”.

Its board approved YMCA Rockies’ strategic plan in April
2022, and it closely aligns with YMCA Vision 2030.
“One of the five pillars is environmental sustainability”,
said Carrie. “We seek to be a leader among camps andconference centres in this area. We know we have a lot ofwork and a lot of opportunity to live into that”.

LESSONS LEARNED– Emily PullenDirector of Housekeeping

Learn more about the YMCA of theRockies and Sustainable Planet.

For other YMCAs looking to implement Vision 2030,
Carrie suggested keeping the following in mind:
Embrace the focus on environmental sustainability.
“Know that the work we do in that space isbenefitting the adults and youth we serve and thefuture of our planet”.
You have to meet people where they’re at and walkwith them along that journey, she said. For someYMCAs, that may be a slower walk.

See how YMCA Rockies is making a difference!

1 Chemin du Mouille-Galand, 1214 Geneva, Switzerland

ymca.int

1 Chemin du Mouille-Galand, 1214 Geneva, Switzerland

ymca.int