greenloop 24, blooloop’s groundbreaking conference focused on sustainability in visitor attractions, took place online on 30 April. With top speakers, over 400 attendees and record engagement, the event highlighted real momentum for climate action in the industry.
Rachel Read, blooloop director and founder of the greenloop conference says:
“Climate change is real, and it’s happening, and it’s going to impact all of us, our families and our industry. It’s only by being informed, learning from each other and working together that we will be able to mitigate and limit the effects that we are already seeing.
“That’s what greenloop is all about, accelerating our impact by collaboration. Doing nothing does not make sense either for our organisations or the planet. Now is the time to engage and take action together!”
Thanks to the sponsors of greenloop 24
Of course we could not put on our events without the support of our sponsors. A huge thanks to:
greenloop champions
greenloop showcase sponsors
What was that all about? 2023’s extreme weather and what it means for the climate
Greenloop 24 kicked off with Professor Peter Cox, director of the Global Systems Institute and professor of Climate System Dynamics at the University of Exeter. Peter opened greenloop by looking back at the extreme weather and record warming of 2023. He discussed what it means for the longer-term climate.
The World Meteorological Association confirmed in January that 2023 was the warmest year on record. 2023 annual average global temperature reached 1.45 ± 0.12 °C above pre-industrial levels, edging ever closer toward the 1.5°C limits set in the Paris Agreement.
We feel that this content is too important to have behind any paywall. Therefore, we have published Prof Cox’s session so it can be accessed for FREE. He explains how and why the climate is changing and very patiently answers all our questions about the Gulf Stream, El Nino and more.
Climate change is happening and we’ve got to act on it. And we’ve got to act on it faster, and we can do that collectively. We can do that. We just have to have the proper intent to do it. It’s an opportunity for us to work together in a way that humans aren’t normally very good at.
Prof Peter Cox
In summary, we are heading to breach the 1.5°C limits set in the Paris Agreement. BUT we should guard against paralysis brought on by fatalism. Now do everything in our power to limit fossil fuel emissions.
I think there is a need for us also to counter a fatalism that comes with a view that the world all ends at 1.5 or 2. Two reasons for that. The people that are suffering from that get really low and suffer mental health problems because of it, but also they tend to be frozen into not acting.
We tend to think, well, if we’re not going to avoid 1.5, let’s just forget about it. And that’s not helpful. So I think we’re going to have to start to think a bit more generally about minimising global warming. There is no drop dead level. In general, I mean, there are individual organisms sometimes in some locations, and extreme events can do that, but in general there isn’t a point where it goes, no risk, no risk, infinite risk. It’s not like that, but it has been framed like that. So, I think the countering of skepticism has been quite effective. But we do have a problem with catastrophism now.
I want people to care enough to want to do something, but not so much that they’re petrified into doing nothing. And that’s a tricky thing.
Prof Peter Cox
Merlin Entertainments at greenloop 24 – solar carports, Woodland Village, supplier data and ambition
Dare Ilori, group sustainability director at Merlin Entertainments, talked about Merlin’s sustainability strategy and progress updates. He highlighted useful lessons learned and challenges ahead.
This is Ilori’s third year speaking at greenloop. He updated us on the Group’s progress on measuring Scope 3 emissions which is underway with the Carbon Trust. He explained that Merlin is starting to reach out to suppliers for their carbon data, and beginning conversations about how suppliers can reduce their Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
A key achievement this year is Woodland Village which is “fossil fuel free”. Ilori explains that this is not achieved by offsetting but by making it 100% electricity operationally. A 1.2MW solar carport will be added. In fact, solar carports and electric vehicle charging for guests are a major programme of work for Merlin. Plans are underway to install at Legoland California and Gardaland as well as Thorpe Park, Warwick Castle and Alton Towers.
Ilori frames the challenges of learning about sustainable technology and solutions and keeping up to date on legislation in the many countries that Merlin operates in as “solution opportunities”, where sharing knowledge is key because “nobody is an island of knowledge”.
Merlin’s sustainability information and Scope 1 & 2 data can be found on page 27 of their Annual Report. Merlin’s Carbon Management Plan is due for public release in June this year. Ilori says that the new leadership have been very supportive and encouraged him to go further:
When I presented our carbon plan to our new CEO, Scott, the first thing he said to me was, “‘this is not ambitious enough”. Now when your CEO says that your carbon plan is not ambitious enough, then that tells you the CEO means business when it comes to carbon management. I mean, the reality is things are evolving, things are changing … and it’s exciting!
Dare Ilori
IAAPA’s Sustainability Journey
Andreas Andersen, CEO of Liseberg and chair of IAAPA’s Global Sustainability Committee shared IAAPA’s ambitious work on sustainability with greenloop 24 attendees. IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry, announced the results of its preliminary and thorough scoping work on ESG in December 2023.
Andersen revealed that IAAPA’s roadmap includes not only assistance for members but also work to look at its own operations. Six flagship initiatives have been identified around Net Zero, Zero Waste, diversity and inclusion targets, communications and disclosure and membership ESG support.
The climate action landscape across visitor attractions is patchy in terms of geography, definitions, and type and size of attraction. However, there are some standout leaders like PortAventura. The session also praised the excellent impact report from Maurer Rides.
Andersen notes that it’s not always easy to justify the necessary initial investment in sustainable solutions as there hasn’t been a huge push from consumers yet:
“You sometimes have to be a little bit self-propelling when it comes to addressing this agenda. You have to to invest some personal commitment because the ROI or the push is not really coming, from the outside, at least not not not all the time.”
Andreas Andersen
IAAPA continues with its impressive sustainability leadership with education and certification programmes, eco-initiatives at the Expos and a newly advertised director of sustainability position.
Fixing carbon with Therme Group and the University of Surrey
Edi Goean, vice president of new business partnerships at Therme Group and Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti, director of the University of Surrey’s Institute for Sustainability and a former member of Parliament and Minister of Education, University and Research in Italy, presented a ground-breaking new carbon tokenomics model.
This carbon-centric ecosystem will help all organisations in the visitor economy to access traceable, real and permanent climate finance investments.
The current voluntary carbon offsetting markets are flawed, with little transparency, and are beset by scandals over authenticity. Prof Fioramonti explained that:
“We believe there is a fundamental problem with the carbon economy at this stage, with how carbon is measured, with how carbon emissions are allocated and how and how they are accounted for. And we believe that by using new technologies … we can build a climate friendly system of financing and incentivising contributions towards a different kind of economy. And we base this on both tokenomics, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence.”
Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti
Goean said that the model developed by Therme Group and the University of Surrey has already been well received by the European Commissioner for transportation. He feels their model balances the needs of businesses, consumers and carbon neutrality, saying.
It can make both companies and clients’ tourists to accept the mechanism to want it to be part of this, to pay the fee necessary to offset the carbon footprint, but at the same time without impacting business growth. So, yes, we have the solution!”
Edi Goean
Red Sea Global at greenloop 24 on trends in wellness and sustainability
Lindsay Madden-Nadeau, senior director – wellness strategy at Red Sea Global, spoke at greenloop 24 about the trends she is seeing in wellness and sustainability and RSG’s commitment to sustainable development.
“Our work here is underpinned by the deep belief in creating authentic wellness experiences and being anchored in sustainability. Part of that is to create meaningful change.”
The Global Wellness Institute reports a 17% yearly increase in wellness tourism. Madden-Nadeau cited wellness travel trends, including longevity, multi-generational travel, spas for men, robot massage, and AI-driven virtual wellness assistants.
On sustainability, she acknowledged tourism’s contribution to climate change. She explained how RSG is trying to develop responsibly with initiatives like 100% renewable energy, 30% net biodiversity targets, coral regeneration and mangrove restoration.
Being rooted in people and planet means that wellness is already embedded into the brand. It’s how we, as a company, choose to express that we are a developer of responsible tourism. We create these beautiful destinations, and we use sustainable construction methods to do that. As a developer, our foundation is sustainability. We build using LEED platinum standards, the highest construction standards, and we’ve built all our infrastructure to support this.
Lindsay Madden-Nadeau
Museums and the climate crisis: Why have they been slow to act?
Nick Merriman, chief executive at English Heritage and Sarah Sutton, CEO at Environment and Culture Partners discussed why the museum sector (with some notable exceptions including GCC members and Art Council England institutions) has been slow to act on the climate crisis and how our cultural institutions can accelerate action and authentically amplify their influence. Merriman was chair of the first UK Museum COP last year.
Merriman’s excellent new book Museums and the Climate Crisis, for which Sutton contributed a chapter, provided the basis for the discussion at greenloop 24.
Generally speaking, a historic schism between culture and science, both in education and museums, has hampered museums’ ability to address the challenge. However, not taking a stance should not be seen as neutral. In fact, it reinforces the status quo of climate inaction in society.
Specifically on climate inaction in the US, Sutton feels there are other local factors:
I think the reason museums suffer from bold action is that we don’t have a national organization saying that this is a priority. The national museum association does not say this is our priority and our responsibility. And in the absence of that, what we get is patchy groups who are building their own coalitions.
Sarah Sutton
This lack of a national organization prioritising climate action is partly political says Sutton. “We’re worried about the appearance of climate funding discouraging part of our support network. I believe that is much more an illusion than a reality. But as creatures of habit, that perception has remained.”
Merriman highlighted the huge opportunity for museums to have a significant impact because they are among “a very small group of institutions that are mandated to take a long-term view beyond short-term cycles of politics and economics.”
However, Merriman stresses that we must not let perfectionism get in the way of action.
Some museums are quite cautious about taking action because they think, if we are going to engage people in climate change, then we need to sort ourselves out and we haven’t got any funding, so we’ll do nothing. And my exhortation always is do something, for God’s sake. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Nick Merriman
Carbon footprints on a budget
Verónica Celis Vergara, CEO at Valumia and chief sustainability officer at Maurer Rides, and Tim Pethick, founder and CEO at Nomad Exhibitions joined Rachel Read, co-founder and director of blooloop, to discuss how smaller businesses can get started with measuring their carbon footprints.
This greenloop 24 session covered:
- The added benefits of measuring
- Top tips for how to measure
- How to make offsetting meaningful
- And the importance of finding friends to help you on your journey!
Top tips from our panel included seeking out free resources and finding other groups and individuals who can work with you. You don’t have to start from scratch and work it all out by yourself. However, by focusing on your carbon footprint, you’ll understand your business better and probably become more efficient.
Celis Vergara recommended the UN Global Compact Academy.
I would suggest for anybody who’s terrified of the amount of time or resources or learning that they need to do, just start with scope one and two in your first year. That’s also amazing and you can get that done in a day.
I would also recommend, joining the UN Global Compact. Joining is very easy and it’s like a super low hanging fruit in the beginning. It doesn’t charge for you as a business too much, but it does give you access to this amazing and wonderful place for learning where you have the UN Global Compact Academy. Not only you as a business owner, but your whole team can access too. So there’s this huge opportunity to start training your whole workforce and to just lose the fear, to get started.
Verónica Celis Vergara
Prioritising reduction
In terms of reduction, both Pethick and Read stressed that good design naturally lowers energy and materials consumption. Nomad Exhibitions has worked on the full lifecycle of its products. It uses recyclable aluminium as well as modular designs to achieve zero waste. By designing well, Pethick explains, they have been able to reduce their footprint and waste and also be more efficient.
Read talked about how getting the SEO right and reducing images and image sizes will naturally reduce the energy consumed by your website. This will also make your site faster and better for visitors and score you more favourably by Google.
Ruth Read (moderating) updated greenloop 24 attendees on the effect of blooloop’s campaign to encourage people to get rid of automated images on email footers. We estimate that the action is now saving 129 tCO2 pa from the organisations who have got in touch.
On offsetting, the panel stressed the importance of prioritising reduction rather than simply buying carbon offsets or putting cash into tree planting schemes. This echoes the work that Therme Group is doing in creating a new carbon tokenomics system and Prof Cox’s advice to reduce as a priority.
Realistic carbon footprints
Pethick explained how he values his carbon at a more realistic and higher figure of £100/tn. Following discussions with the Gallery Climate Coalition he has re-framed offsetting as strategic climate funding with a partnership with Solar Aid:
Essentially, you’re acting like investors in carbon reduction. That’s much more interesting way to think about it. Not buying a portion of some hydroelectric program in northern China, but investing money in somebody that you passionately agree with and feel some affinity with … You know, a lot of the time I think this is all framed in negatives. But for us this is only ever been a positive thing.
Tim Pethick
What if you could change a life and tackle the climate crisis at the flick of a switch?
— SolarAid (@SolarAid) May 13, 2024
With a simple solar light, you can, meaning parents can earn, children can learn and the planet can breathe a bit easier.
Join ushttps://t.co/vJ9gNiTSNL pic.twitter.com/zx6p5L0pCK
Celis Vergara ended by encouraging SMEs to step up, explaining how an online tool she is developing at Valumia is going to help. Companies who are interested in using the tool can join the waiting list:
90% of the world’s business are small and medium sized companies. 99.9% in the European continent. So the power that SMEs and startups have in this market is just huge.
Verónica Celis Vergara
We have added some of the useful links from this session at the bottom of our sustainability page. In addition, this session is free to view on our YouTube channel. There is also a session from Pethick with more detail on how he calculated his carbon footprint and his work with Solar Aid. If you want to get in touch to chat about any of this please do contact ruth.read@blooloop.com.
Katapult reveal Helping Hands Project winner at greenloop 24
Robbie Jones, insights director at Katapult, announced the winner of the 2024 Helping Hands Project as ZooAtronic. Katapult has run this initiative for the past six years, giving £10,000 worth of its expertise to a charity, visitor attraction or community interest company to help them with a project.
Jones explained that as the world’s first themed attraction design company to be B-Corp certified, they are passionate about “having a positive community impact that helps communities, that helps the planet”.
ZooAtronic is an immersive digital zoo that allows visitors to “discover and connect with lifelike interpretations of wildlife and habitats from across the globe without the need for captivity or long-distance travel.” ZooAtronic wants to build and forge relationships with zoos and provide a different way of resonating with wildlife and habitats. More information about this partnership will be revealed in the next few months.
Take action!
This year, we included mini-sessions with four organisations focused on sustainability in different sectors. Over the last few years, we have seen more groups set up to take action in their areas. Joining a group can be a really powerful way to learn from others, progress your sustainability goals, and do something worthwhile for your sector.
And, of course, if you can’t find a group, set up your own and let us know!
Follow the links below to find out how you can get involved:
Kim McIntyre, executive director of the Aquarium Conservation Partnership spoke about how US aquariums have been working together to increase their conservation impact.
Kelly Perkins, marketing director at The Farm AV, introduced SAVe which is working in sustainability in AV. SAVe is made up of leaders from the AV industry who are committed to advancing the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. It provides information, inspiration and leadership to enable the industry to take meaningful action. Find out more and get involved here.
Helena Mansell-Stopher, CEO and founder of Products of Change (POC) told us about how the membership organisation is collectively building the infrastructure and providing the resources to help the brand licensing and consumer products industry reduce its environmental impact. POC’s sustainability framework is free and can be downloaded here.
Aoife Fannin, project manager at Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) spoke about how the international membership organisation is providing environmental sustainability guidelines for the visual arts sector. The membership is a coalition of 1500 artists, institutions/non-profits, art sector businesses and galleries. It is committed to creating a sustainable sector.
The GCC is free to join. It has lots of fantastic resources including a free carbon calculator tool, as well as decarbonisation action plans and more. Check out the site and fantastic resources here.
Innovations in recycling and reuse
John Frawley, director/CEO of Minnesota Zoo and president of Minnesota Zoo Foundation, Graham MacVoy, co-founder and managing director of Wake The Tiger, and Carrie O’Keefe, director of business development at EDG and culturenut, then spoke about reuse and recycling.
Wake The Tiger is a relatively new immersive, interactive art experience in Bristol, UK. From the beginning, they started measuring their carbon impact to know where to improve. MacVoy explained:
We’re very passionate about the environment and about our communities…we wanted it to be environmentally conscious and socially conscious…without that social equity you’re never going to get environmental balance.”
Graham MacVoy
Part of this mission involves engaging with education and children and thinking about how Wake The Tiger can help teachers facilitate creative thinking within their classes with assets.
Many finishings and props are second-hand and sourced from car boot sales or other sectors like film sets. They also put on an event last summer where staff members brought in recyclable waste that visitors could turn into new art. Events like this, as well as the emphasis on reusing materials within the experience, try to change people’s perceptions of what trash is and how it can be reused.
MacVoy admits that they haven’t been perfect with everything they’ve done, but they are constantly learning:
“It’s something that we are really motivated on. We want to use trash and junk and reuse everything to show what can be achieved”, he said.
O’Keefe then discussed culturenut which was launched in 2019 after EDG’s CEO saw that museums and institutions would build large exhibitions that end up in storage or even landfill. So culturenut was created to provide a platform where institutions, companies or even individuals can buy and sell assets that are no longer needed. They are also launching an app at the end of 2024. This will make it more like an eBay world for cultural institutions.
Reusing exhibitions
O’Keefe also spoke about how flexible reusing an exhibition can be. A Harry Potter exhibit was recently sold through culturenut where the IP was stripped away so the rest could be repurposed. A museum from Arkansas, however, bought the Math Moves exhibition from the Science Museum of Minnesota. It is now a permanent exhibition rather than being in a landfill.
She also emphasised that anything, not just the full exhibition, can be sold, including AV equipment, retail, furniture, and more. Anything “can be somebody else’s treasure.”
Then Frawley spoke about Minnesota Zoo’s Treetop Trail which reused an obsolete monorail at the zoo from the 1970s. It was inspired partly by the High Line in New York after Frawley visited it and realised they could do something similar in the zoo. The track was so well built that it could become a 1.25-mile pedestrian loop.
“Reusing something is always the best”, Frawley explained. They tried to implement sustainability into the project as much as possible. For example, the decking is a composite made of recycled plastic.
The Trail is also accessible which was very important to Frawley; “Nature is unbiased. Nature is for everybody…we have to make sure we create the access for that”. He believes that giving people access to nature will inspire them to protect it.
“A good personal experience, that’s the beginning of the journey towards sustainability and actions and helping to save the environment and in our case actions to help save wildlife and wild places” he explained. Part of the way the zoo is helping to connect people with nature is through its prescription for nature scheme. Nature can help with anxiety and stress. So, they work with local caregivers who bring their clients and families to the Treetop Trail after a counselling session.
A good personal experience, that’s the beginning of the journey towards sustainability and actions and helping to save the environment and in our case actions to help save wildlife and wild places.
John Frawley
Walt Disney Imagineering on a holistic approach to sustainable design
Emily Dow, design + delivery studio executive and Caitlin Krasovic, sustainable design principal, Walt Disney Imagineering, reflected on the progress they have made over the last four years since first speaking at greenloop. Some of the projects they have previously shared with us are now opening.
Dow said:
“When Caitlin and I were talking about where we’re headed with sustainability here at Disney … whether we’re trying to solve carbon emissions and the need for sustainable design and big ideas on climate resiliency, we really think it’s going to take that same interdisciplinary cross-industry collaboration to solve these really tough challenges that we know we’re all facing…
“We are super thrilled to be back at greenloop. It’s our fourth year. So, it’s been a really interesting way for Caitlin and I to track our progress and the team’s progress, by coming each year and talking about our successes, but also our challenges, as well.”
Dow explained that the Disney team is now zooming back out to examine a more holistic strategic approach to sustainable design, exploring the opportunities for impact at scale across a whole site, adapting to various global regions, and planning for the future with resilient developments. An example is Shanghai Disney Resort, which was awarded LEED Platinum Certification.
Science Based Targets with Disney at greenloop 2024
“These sustainable strategies, whether it was the water management, the water treatment, the site formation, how we thought about the build-up of the soil, how we thought about the systems, that was in place before we even sketched a line of the idea on the page. When you’re trying to make a big impact, that holistic thinking from the start is absolutely critical.”
Krasovic revealed that Disney has just been approved to participate in the Science Based Targets initiative. To meet the 2030 targets, WDI has identified five key levers: design, efficiency, low-carbon fuels, electrification, and renewable electricity. Electrification and solar arrays are playing a big part in the drive to net zero emissions from direct operations.
She also emphasised the key role for WDI:
Leading the way is designing sustainability. So here at Walt Disney Imagineering, we do play a really big role in this lever as we are striving to design and deliver all of our newly approved projects to near net zero emissions, as we have laid out and shaped in our internal sustainable design standard.
Caitlin Krasovic
But of course, with Disney, everything comes back to the story. Dow explained that with the new Avatar Experience in Disneyland Resort:
A sustainable design isn’t just about the technical requirements of meeting the goal, but it’s also about bringing to life stories of conservation our natural world and how guests can impact our natural world in really interesting ways. At Disney, everything that we do is story driven. So that’s why it’s very important to treat sustainability, treat our environmental goals as really foundational principles that in a lens in which we think through all of our projects and with the IP.
Emily Dow
Sustainability in action with Mall of America, FORREC and WhiteWater
greenloop 24 attendees then heard from Chris Grap, vice president of experiential entertainment at Mall of America, Una de Boer, chief marketing officer at WhiteWater and Cindi Rowan, director of landscape architecture studio at FORREC.
Grap explained that when Mall of America was built in 1992, it was designed with sustainability in mind. He said that “sustainability is always a part of the conversation”. Whether that’s with future design choices or retroactively adding sustainability to existing structures.
As owners, operators and developers, they wear many different hats at Mall of America. “There’s the stewardship and maintenance of our own space and being a good member of our community. But then there’s also the responsibility as we continue to build and develop to make sure…we’re putting the best practices into places for the future as well”, Grap explained.
“This involves being up-to-date on the latest sustainable practices and educating guests on their sustainability efforts”.
Education is important because if a visitor throws food waste into a recycling bin, that negates any sustainability effort. Grap said, “There is a job that we as an industry need to do to help get people on board with the practices and why they’re important”.
Part of this is ensuring that it is done in a fun way. Mall of America has several initiatives. For example, releasing 144,000 ladybugs with the Girl Scouts, where they invited the public to take part.
Rowan emphasised how important it is to set goals and targets. A corporate goal at FORREC last year was to integrate sustainable design into 50% of its global entertainment projects and they achieved this in one year.
Bringing sustainability to the guest experience
She noted that the push for sustainability often comes from clients although this is partly dependent on the region. Some are focused on green infrastructure, some on green energy or even nature-based drainage solutions.
What’s most important is “bringing sustainability to the guest experience, making it a part of the narrative, the theming.” She said more and more clients are also looking for certification. This gives them a framework to work within on the design process and will help them demonstrate sustainability credentials to visitors.
She also said that it’s important to build flexibility into spaces so that they can adapt to changes in climate over time. For example, FORREC worked on a water park project where they looked at tides and future water levels to ensure that what they build would be there in decades to come.
WhiteWater has been on a sustainability journey for a number of years and is completing ISO 14001.
De Boer explained to greenloop 24 attendees that one priority for them is to influence customers, educate them on their sustainable choices, and get them to think about the long-term impact. She said that thinking about ongoing maintenance and operating costs is often “not sufficiently considered in the purchasing phase.” So, as an industry, we need to have these conversations.
The need for open conversations
You need “data and proof of what you’re saying because otherwise, it’s marketing”, DeBoer explained. Suppliers need to use case studies and statistics from existing clients to help prove to operators how this sustainable initiative can pay back over time. For example, water parks use less water than golf courses. This is a key stat for operators but also for guests to know.
Another key element of WhiteWater’s sustainability is funding research. The company is working with the University of Victoria to look at how fibreglass biodegrades and how it can be reused in a safe way.
“By really understanding the material we work with and how we can look at life beyond the slide, we are thinking in the broadest sense about sustainability. Because one of the things that I think is the responsibility of a supplier is how do you make it,” DoBoer explained. This drives them to be more innovative as they look at the lifecycle of their products.
All the speakers agreed that suppliers and operators need to have open conversations about sustainability. Suppliers need to be innovative and creative in devising sustainable solutions. Plus, operators have to be willing to implement them, even if that comes with a larger upfront cost.
Reverse The Red at greenloop 24 – recovering species worldwide
The IUCN Red List is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. Michael Clifford, strategy director of Reverse the Red, explained how the organisation is trying to strategically co-ordinate conservation efforts with initiatives such as the World Species Congress.
“We are a global coalition that’s igniting strategic action and coordination to achieve the outcome of reversing the red!
This was an incredibly positive session to end the day on. Clifford explained that it is possible to not just stop biodiversity loss, but to actually reverse it.
“I want to start by saying that it’s possible we actually have the technology, the tools, the ability, the collaboration, the know how, the experience to reverse biodiversity loss and to recover species.”
Michael Clifford
Eugenia Cordero Schmidt, program officer at Center for Species Survival Brazil (CSS Brazil), offered a case study on how Reverse the Red coordinates action in Brazil. This is a megadiverse country hosting the greatest biodiversity in the world.
She explained how the CSS has seen its impact grow:
One of the most amazing things is when we created the Center for Species Survival we thought about working in Brazil, mostly focused on birds of the Atlantic Forest, but so far we have been working with over 100 species in over ten countries. And this is just amazing and it was possible because we work with respect, collaboration and communication. And we have to take into consideration and have in mind that we are all one, and each one of us is needed for us to be able to reverse this situation.
Eugenia Cordero Schmidt
Empowering communities
Judy Mann-Lang, executive strategic projects at Two Oceans Aquarium discussed empowering and engaging communities during greenloop 24.
“I often say that that species can look after themselves. They did it for a very, very long time before we arrived. But it’s the people we need to understand. It’s the people we need to engage with. It’s it’s understanding people that’s going to help us to save species.”
Mann says that our visitors are our “superpower” in terms of inspiring action. Reverse the Red Day on 7 February each year aims to get 100 million people engaged in actions that help biodiversity.
“The message that I’ve got is that all of us can participate. Even if you don’t have animals in your facility, all of us can be a part of the reverse thread. It’s really showcasing conservation is possible. We don’t want to sell doom and gloom about the state of biodiversity. The bad news is there. There’s plenty of it. We want to show people hope.
“We want to empower people to make those behaviour changes because they know it’s going to make a difference!”
Mann-Lang went on to emphasise the importance of stories of hope in overcoming inertia and empowering people to act.
We can’t keep telling bad news stories. We need to tell stories of hope. We have to to move beyond the the doom and gloom. And I think that’s what greenloop is so wonderful at. It’s it’s sharing stories that are positive.
Judy Mann-Lang
And that was an amazing message to end greenloop 24. We hope that all our attendees were informed and inspired to take climate action with us. We look forward to seeing you all next year.
And, of course, check out Reverse the Red here and get involved here.
Catch up with greenloop 24
If you missed greenloop 24 you access the recording for just £24 including UK VAT.
BUT greenloop attendees – you can get access to all four years of greenloop for 1 year. Please check your emails for our mail or contact events@blooloop.com for the coupon code!
greenloop 25!
greenloop 25 is scheduled for 29 April 2025. Save the date!
In the meantime, if you would like to contact us about anything sustainability-related, please email Ruth at ruth.read@blooloop.com. If you want to contact us about events and sponsorship, please email events@blooloop.com.
The post greenloop 24: inspiring climate action appeared first on Blooloop.