Going solar at Wellington Zoo

Published 1 Feb 2016

Enhancing the worlds first CarbonZero Certified Zoo

We helped Wellington Zoo reduce its carbon emission by installing 48 new solar panels.

The installation of the monocrystalline PV modules will kick off on Wellington Zoo’s front entrance building on 1 February is set to save the Zoo the same amount of power used by one and a half average households per year.

“As a conservation organisation, we work hard to save animals in the wild – and the effects of climate change are a major threat to wildlife worldwide,” says Chief Executive Karen Fifield.

“Reducing our carbon emissions is important to minimising our impact on climate and protecting our environment from further harm.”

The initiative follows many other actions Wellington Zoo has taken to reduce our carbon footprint such as large scale composting and waste reduction, to collecting over 300,000 litres of rain water each year.

“We’re proud to showcase our environmentally conscious practices to our community,” says Karen.

“We’ve been sharing our sustainability journey with visitors to show how choices each person makes at home and at work can help to reduce their own carbon footprint. “

“Using power smartly is often the easiest way to reduce power use, and we’re proud of the significant reductions we’ve made in our electricity consumption over the past few years through making energy efficient choices,” says Conservation Manager Daniela Biaggio. 

“Electricity is still the largest contributor to our carbon emissions profile which is why we’re now undertaking a solar panel installation.”

Wellington Zoo’s installation is being managed by the Sustainability Trust, not-for-profit energy efficiency specialists, who will be installing the panels next week.

“Being an environmentally sustainable organisation is not an end goal – it’s a journey of ongoing choices and  improvement,” says Karen.

“Lowering our carbon emissions and our impact on the environment is about securing the future, for animals, the environment, and ourselves.”

“One of the best outcomes for us is inspiring more people to think about how they can use power more smartly in their own homes or organisations.”

Wellington Zoo became the world’s first carboNZero certified zoo in May 2013, after a five year programme of emissions reductions. Since first achieving certification, Wellington Zoo has reduced emissions by ten tonnes.

Photo caption: (from left to right) Chief Executive of Sustainability Trust Philip Squire, Chief Executive of Wellington Zoo Karen Fifield, Wellington Zoo Conservation Manager Daniela Biaggio, and Sustainability Trust Energy Performance Specialist and Business Developer Jonathan Parker)