Gearing Up for the 2024 AZA Annual Conference
Are you headed to the 2024 AZA Annual Conference in Calgary this fall? Team Verdis is gearing up to learn and connect at the largest zoo and aquarium event in North America.
We look forward to collaborating with experienced professionals tackling some of the most pressing sustainability issues in the aquarium and zoo profession!
Being part of this community’s collective impact on local and global conservation is both thrilling and humbling. Check out the collective impact projects below, which were made possible by the collaborative approach of the AZA community’s local and global leaders.
Green SAG Workshop
We’re looking forward to taking part in transformational conversations at the Green Scientific Advisory Group (Green SAG) Workshop. Along with these conversations, we’ll be presenting new collaborative projects that will have a huge collective impact on the industry.
The Green Scientific Advisory Group (Green SAG) Workshop is a day-long event open to all conference attendees to connect people, projects, and ideas that accelerate climate action. Join us there if interested in the following topics:
- Feedback Loops that Drive Positive Change
- Conservation & Sustainability
- Environmental Justice and Intersectionality
- Measuring GHG Inventories for Aquariums and Zoos
- Sustainable Procurement
- Climate Vulnerability and Resilience
The mission of the Green SAG is to lead the AZA community in reducing human impact on natural resources and wildlife through sustainable business operations. The Green SAG Workshop is coordinated by Claudia Pineda Tibbs, Jess Thompson, Kelly Dillow, and Verdis Group’s Belyna Bentlage, Wayne Warrington, and Erin LeFever.
GHG Inventory Calculator Designed for Zoos & Aquariums
The Aquarium Conservation Partnership (ACP) recognized the need to simplify GHG measurement and reporting for aquariums and zoos. In collaboration with the ACP and its member aquariums, our team led the development of an aquarium and zoo-specific GHG Inventory Calculator. This GHG tool streamlines the emissions calculations process, addressing animal transportation and other common emissions categories across the profession.
Verdis Group’s Megan Belongia will present the GHG Tool at the Green SAG Workshop and train AZA members to use it.
“The benefit I see from using the tool is greater standardization across the profession and consistency over time,” Belongia says. “The tool is designed to help zoo and aquarium representatives produce a complete and accurate inventory as efficiently as possible without needing specialized knowledge or technical expertise in GHG emissions.”
Verdis Group launched the GHG Inventory Calculator at the 2024 AZA Midyear Meeting earlier this year. ACP funds both the GHG tool and subsequent training via the IMLS Leadership Grant.
ACP Sustainable Procurement Guide
Purchasing for aquariums and zoos has a considerable climate impact, which is why the Aquarium Conservation Partnership (ACP) partnered with Verdis Group and SSA Group to create a guide to make it easier to purchase sustainably. Molly Coghlan will present the ACP Sustainable Procurement Guide at the Green SAG Workshop.
Developed for over 230 aquariums and zoos nationwide, this guide serves as an education resource, a fundamental decision tree for purchasing, and provides tracking tools. The Sustainable Procurement Guide is designed to help teams start integrating sustainable purchasing into their operations and have the resources and tools they need to do so.
Green SAG Shared Metrics Dashboard: Galvanizing Change through Collaborative Data
In response to community member requests to visualize their green practices data over time, Green SAG collaborated with Verdis Group and SSA Group to pilot an interactive digital dashboard. Feedback from Green Summit attendees at the 2024 Mid-Year Meeting in Memphis has encouraged its continued development as a valuable tool. Corbin Delgado will guide Green SAG Workshop participants through the dashboard.
The dashboard will allow AZA member organizations to quickly and easily access and analyze their contributed data in tandem with their peers. This peer learning will accelerate climate and sustainability action across the profession. Over a dozen members have already joined the pilot project, with the opportunity for any other AZA members to participate in Phase II.
Sustainability and Climate Action Planning: Why, How, and What We’ve Learned
Daniel Lawse will moderate a panel on how sustainability and climate planning support your institution’s mission. With the expert panelists, he’ll facilitate a discussion to help participants ensure a climate action plan is relevant and actionable to each unique organization.
This climate session will also feature sustainability and conservation-driven leaders from institutions nationwide. They will discuss the why, how, and what they’ve learned in their climate action journey. Attendees can learn more about the critical steps to start your institution on the path to completing an effective and timely climate action plan.
The Sustainability and Climate Action Planning session will feature the following presenters: Tim Lyons of Albuquerque BioPark, Wanda Kolo of the Saint Louis Zoo, Colley Hodges of the Houston Zoo, and Andrew Fischer of SSA Group.
We hope to see you at AZA Annual! Many thanks to our partners, including the dozens of aquariums and zoos who dedicated expertise, time, and energy to the creation of these collective impact tools: