I am Healthways’ Operations Manager.  I have worked at Healthways for 22 years and have overseen program development and facility management in that time.  I started my career in the water teaching swimming lessons.  It is such a joy to say that there have now been dozens of kids that I taught swimming who have gone on to become swimming teachers and work colleagues.  I remember them coming in and not being able to see over the counter, and now they are all grown up and we’re working together, teaching other kids to swim.  It is multi-generational – a real community.

Healthways became a leader in sustainability 20 years ago when we were one of the first organisations in Australia to install enough solar panels to meet all our day-time electricity needs.  We were the first organisation in our industry to be solar-powered.  At the time, it was my father (Mark Simcocks, the business owner and director) who pushed the project.  Everyone thought he was crazy, but as an engineer by trade he was adamant that it was worth doing. He was a crusader for his vision of a sustainable building, leading us to be early adopters of renewable energy. 

After installing solar panels 20 years ago the building has undergone a major renovation and building expansion, which took 15 years from planning to completion.  During that time, we did a heap of other ‘normal’ power saving upgrades in the original building – we converted all lighting to LED, we changed all the showers over to water-saving showers, we installed water-saving cyclonic filters on the pool.  

Once the electricity needs of the building were met by solar, the next biggest user of energy in the building was the pool.  Heating pool water is no easy feat and traditionally requires large amounts of gas. However, as part of the building’s expansion, there were three smaller shop fronts that were set to be demolished.  After researching, we started embarking on the plan to install ground-source heating and cooling.  In theory, this would replace gas and would mean that all the building’s heating and cooling was renewable – which was completely unheard of in the commercial pool space!

It has been 2 years since the ground source heating and cooling system has been fully operational and the results are outstanding.  In 2024, for 10 months of the year there was next to no gas used to heat the pool water.  We were able to maintain 32-degree water in two commercial pools from entirely renewable sources.  In the two coldest months of the year, the ground source heating and cooling could maintain the water at 31 degrees and gas boosting was required just for that last degree.  For this, we were recognised as a Finalist in the Aquatics and Recreation Victoria Award for Facility Management in 2024, and again in 2025.  We have been a case study for the installation company on what is possible in suburban areas.

We stand tall in our industry as a self-funded facility.  We receive no public funds and are like every household building project – we have bank loans and repayments.  Our success is a result of day-to-day excellence in our service delivery and programs, and long-term strategic investment into the facility.  

Firstly, we have learnt how long these things can take to be done!  When we were at VCAT as part of the planning stages of the building expansion I was pregnant with my daughter – she is turning 15 this month!  

Secondly, we have learnt how much the ground-swell and support for renewable efforts has increased over that time.  People want to support a business that is a good corporate citizen.  15 years ago when we talked to people about what we were planning for the building, it was merely a point of interest.  The vibe was very much a feeling of ‘that’s nice, but it doesn’t impact me’.  Now our contribution to the community is part of the decision-making process to come and support the centre.  We are glad people are coming out to support our contribution to the community.

We have another centre in Ringwood, Healthways Aquatic Centre – which is in a 50-year-old building. The next goal is to replace the roof at this centre and install 50 solar panels on the roof as part of that upgrade, and to start preparations for ground source heating and cooling there too. We will be seeking to convert the 1960s building to a best-practice sustainable building too.

1. Don’t wait!  You’ll always wish you did it yesterday.  
2. Measure everything!  As soon as you start planning, start measuring everything.  Collect as much data about your energy use baseline as you can.  When you are on the other side, it will help you so much to know how successful your actions have been and help your customers know that they are supporting a good corporate citizen.  
3. Think 20 years in the future.  Technology is improving all the time.  Think about what is going to be the ‘norm’ in 20 years.  If you have the means to make that happen today, do it.  It takes special people to be early adopters of technology.  Be one of those ‘special people’ and then help everyone else to see your vision.  I am very grateful to my dad, Mark, for sharing his vision for our future.  Without him we would not have achieved all that we have.  It takes a team…  I work hard to be the best in the business for our services and our clients, but we needed Mark to be the facility visionary.  Have a visionary in your team.