Don't Trash an Opportunity!
A guest buys a cheeseburger from the concession stand, served in a foam container. A plastic knife and fork, wrapped in a plastic bag, are thrown on the tray. The guest grabs a fistful of ketchup packets. Already full from the other treats they’ve grazed on, they only eat a portion of the burger and fries. The rest gets dumped in the garbage, along with the packets, containers, utensils, and the plastic straw from their drink, sending them to a landfill. Repeat thousands of times per day throughout thousands of attractions. That’s a lot of trash. And trash, like water consumption and fossil fuel usage, hurts the environment.
Why should attractions care?
The climate is in crisis, and there’s a direct impact on attractions. Climate change causes increased extreme weather events. More hot days create crankier, sweatier guests who need more shade and air conditioning. For zoos, the number of species threatened by climate change could increase, further straining conservation efforts.
Not convinced yet? Guests are also demanding action on climate change. They want to see authentic, transparent efforts from attractions. Attractions have an opportunity to put sustainability into practice and help educate visitors and impact their behavior, helping the planet at the attraction and beyond. We spoke with experts focused on sustainability at Port Aventura and PGAV to get a few ideas on how attractions can start making strides toward more sustainable practices.
Choni Fernandez Veciana is the director of sustainability at PortAventura, the first carbon-neutral theme park in the world. Gary Rogowski is a LEED AP and Registered Architect at PGAV, and Alex Goddard is a PGAV designer and leads PGAV’s Green Team.
Starting Line
The scope can feel overwhelming, but there’s always a place to start. Goddard says, “Each and every little step that we take matters and has a ripple effect. Especially with attractions, you can influence, inspire, and educate every guest that goes to your attraction.”
Still using plastic straws? Switch to paper. Eco-friendly LED lighting can also be an easy win for sustainability. Rogowski said, “LED light fixtures can help in multiple ways. They use 75% less energy than incandescent and 20% less energy than fluorescent. LEDs really shine (no pun intended) in their longevity, with projected lifespans of over 14 years. The positive impact on the environment carries even further! At 25 to 30 times the lifespan of an incandescent, this means 25 times fewer light bulbs being tossed into landfills. When you factor in the reduction of manufacturing and transportation, there is a real benefit to the environment.”
Choni Fernandez Venciana at PortAventura. Credit: Portaventura World
Fernandez Veciana spoke about PortAventura’s sustainability plan and how similar steps could apply to another attraction. She said, “Each company has its own sustainability journey. It’s important to detect the strongest action or project and use that as a starting point to build a strategy. Second, it’s always better to start small, consolidate, and then enlarge.”
“Sustainability must be embedded into the whole organization. Otherwise, it will be a failure,” she continued. “All stakeholders should be involved, especially employees. And it’s essential to have the support of the CEO and top management. And finally, communication is key. It’s very important to ‘do,’ but you must also communicate both internally and externally from the beginning of the project to the final result.”
Steps Forward
The food an attraction offers, and disposal methods can make an impact. You might think throwing that leftover burger in the trash isn’t really an issue. But, food waste generates methane, a greenhouse gas, and EPA data shows food waste is the most common material landfilled and incinerated in the U.S. Goddard said, “Tossing that burger into a compost bin can save greenhouse gasses and can increase soil quality, reducing the need for fertilizers and pesticides. It provides free, nutrient-rich soil to use in landscaping. Ensure there are compost and recycling bins next to every trash can and that they are accessible and well-labeled, so there’s no confusion about what goes where.”
Setting Goals
Ready to set sustainability goals? There are a few terms you should know.
Carbon Footprint: The amount of greenhouse gases that are generated by actions, created by things like transportation, energy, food, items, and trash. The larger the footprint, the larger the strain on the environment.
Carbon Neutral: The state of making no net release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Net Zero is an aim to become carbon neutral by a certain date.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) provides companies with a path to reduce emissions. The path is broken into three Scopes:
Scope 1: Direct emission from company-owned and controlled resources.
Scope 2: Indirect emission from purchased energy from a utility provider (electricity, steam, heat, and cooling).
Scope 3: Indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the company, including waste, purchased goods, transportation, and distribution.
It's also important to acknowledge that there will be roadblocks or challenges. Fernandez Veciana explains, “When PortAventura World announced its commitment to the Science Based Target initiative for emissions reductions, we realized that many of our suppliers were ill-informed about the meaning of decarbonization. We worked with our suppliers to reduce their direct emissions, impacting our indirect emissions.”
One Project at a Time
“Take the steps that make sense for your client and your project. We’re not going to fix the problem with just one project. But we can make a significant dent if we apply sustainable thinking to every project,” Rogowski said.
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