Resilience and Revenue: Climate Experienced Loss for Zoos and Aquariums

As climate patterns become increasingly unpredictable, zoos and aquariums face mounting challenges that extend far beyond animal care—impacting everything from daily operations to bottom-line revenue. While institutions have long adapted to seasonal variations and weather patterns, the accelerating pace of extreme weather events is forcing a fundamental shift in how they plan, operate, and measure success. Climate experienced loss is how we can estimate actual financial impacts associated with significant climate-related disruptions.

With the AZA Annual Conference approaching this September, there’s never been a more opportune time to examine how climate resilience strategies can protect the animals we care for, our guests, and the financial sustainability that enables that care. This intersection is where the concept of “climate experienced loss” becomes not just relevant, but essential for the future of the profession.

Climate disruptions are causing increased attendance fluctuations

Cultural institutions are constantly navigating attendance fluctuations. Fluctuations can come from macro trends such as economic downturns or micro trends like demographic shifts in the local area. These trends can have varying effects on attendance every year. 

Institutions are well-versed at planning for attendance shifts and making assumptions on what to expect based on historical norms. However, many organizations have begun to see over the last few years that weather-related incidents are increasingly affecting attendance and revenue. 

Global weather patterns are shifting; dry regions are becoming drier, wetter areas are experiencing more rainfall, and extreme weather events such as storms, floods, and hurricanes are increasing in frequency, intensity, or both. Communities worldwide are struggling with increasingly severe weather-related disasters caused by climate change.

The increase in these unexpected weather events has begun financially impacting the profession in several ways:

  • Extreme temperatures (cold and heat) are occurring at different times of year, causing chronic attendance disruptions.
  • Extreme weather events like flooding or storm damage cause unexpected closures and can lead to expensive repairs
  • Long-term climate shifts have caused institutions to alter the species they can exhibit.
  • Animal registrars face shrinking transport windows for shipping animals between facilities, creating logistical challenges.

Implementing resilience strategies

Zoos and aquariums are already adapting to these new challenges. Admissions teams are altering guest access times to avoid extreme heat. Some are pushing flex pricing and timed tickets toward the shoulder seasons to recoup lost attendance and revenue. 

Beyond attendance, extreme weather events are also impacting general operations. Many operations teams are implementing seasonal schedule adjustments. For example, animal care teams are adjusting summer transport schedules because historical temperature windows are narrowing. Since animal diets require specific nutrient densities, nutrition teams are examining vendor sourcing because increased heat and drought are decreasing nutrients in the animal’s food sources.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

In addition to adaptation strategies, institutions are implementing resilience strategies, which increase the ability of an organization to adapt quickly to, or recover quickly from, disruptions. Resilience strategies can range from flexible built environments that adapt to changing needs, staff training, and weather-related emergency drills. If you’re interested in a deep dive into climate resilience for cultural institutions, check out our future-proofing article on Blooloop.

For U.S.-based organizations, The Climate Toolbox is a great resource to examine future climate projections.

Many institutions are making operational adjustments and investments in response to weather-related challenges. But without a clear framework for measuring the costs of climate impacts—both direct losses from closures and indirect effects, such as reduced visitor satisfaction—it’s difficult to make informed decisions about where to invest limited resources for maximum resilience. Understanding the full scope of climate-related financial impacts is essential for developing long-term strategies and securing the support needed to implement them.

Measuring climate experienced loss

Climate experienced loss is the estimate of actual financial impacts associated with significant climate-related disruptions, such as unplanned closures and other climate-related disruptions. 

To measure climate experienced loss, an organization would cross-reference several data points to calculate the actual loss due to climate disruptions, including:

  • Historical revenue 
  • Attendance data
  • Financial commitments for damage caused by weather events (repairing enclosures, fences, debris removal, etc.)
  • Guest and visitor feedback (Animals not being visible due to weather or temperature)

Institutions can prepare and plan, but uncertainty will always be present—we can’t know when severe weather events will occur. Organizations need to be ready for the surprises on the horizon. By tracking and assessing current financial impacts, organizations can better plan for the future.

Taking a deep dive during AZA Annual

Right now, Verdis Group is conducting a Climate Experienced Loss pilot initiative for select AZA zoos and aquariums to develop an assessment method that may be replicable across similar AZA institutions. Funded by our partner and industry leader, SSA Group, we’re collaborating with several AZA member institutions to gather all necessary attendance, financial, operational, and weather data and information, and perform a quantitative assessment of their recent climate experienced losses. The outcomes of this assessment will enable institutions to better understand the material financial risks posed by climate disruptions, informing future resilience and adaptation measures. 

At the 2025 AZA Annual Conference, Verdis Group will deliver the anonymized preliminary findings at the following session (full schedule here): 

Thursday, September 18, 8-9:30 am

Wayne Warrington

AZA Environmental Megatrend: Building Climate Resilience – Strategic Planning for Future Weather Events (add to Google Calendar) 

The Climate Experienced Loss pilot initiative is a foundational step toward transforming how our industry approaches resilience planning. By developing standardized methods for quantifying climate impacts, participating institutions are not only protecting their own operations but contributing to a knowledge base that could benefit the entire AZA community. The data and insights gathered through this collaborative effort will help institutions of all sizes make more informed decisions about infrastructure investments, operational changes, and long-term strategic planning.

We thank the zoos and aquariums for participating and SSA Group for funding this endeavor!

By understanding both how to adapt to climate challenges and how to measure their true costs, zoos and aquariums can continue fulfilling their vital conservation missions while maintaining the financial stability necessary to care for animals and educate communities. Together, we’re building the tools and knowledge that can help us co-create a thriving and resilient world.

We hope to see you in Tampa at the conference! Reach out to us if you’d like to chat: 

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