Going Green
The Cincinnati Zoo is the leading conservation based organization in the City of Cincinnati. We will aggressively and passionately pursue environmental stewardship and our green initiative that includes: energy efficiency, water usage, storm water management, waste management, and sustainable design and construction. It is our mission, our duty, to teach and inspire the one million visitors that walk through our gates each year. By showing our visitors and other organizations what we are doing, how we are doing it, and why we are doing it, we can empower them to take similar action in their homes, their schools, and their places of work.
Energy Efficiency
Utilities make up a large portion of the Zoo’s operating budget. With energy rate projections being what they are, we must aggressively address our energy usage. While the behavioral and cultural changes that we are addressing will have the most significant impact, the following approach to upgrading our facility to be more energy efficient.
- Light fixture upgrades through implementation of T-8 lamps, CFL's, and occupancy sensors.
- Boiler upgrades by installing highly efficient boilers and more efficient water heater models.
- HVAC upgrades by installing energy management equipment and software.
- Renewable Energy through solar, geothermal, and biomass initiatives.
Water Usage
In the last two years, we have been aggressively working on our water usage. By fixing old water main leaks, upgrading and fine tuning our water filtration systems, and working with staff on operational issues, we have made a significant dent in our water usage. Comparing the 2005 and 2007 numbers, we reduced our water consumption by 37%.
Storm Water Management
Creatively managing our storm water run-off is a major focus for us, as the combined sewer overflow problem in the County is a significant problem. Working in conjunction with MSD, we are making major strides in reducing our storm water discharge from the Zoo’s land. Some examples of how we are doing this are:
- Green roofs
- Rain gardens
- Bio-retention
By using these “green engineering” technologies over the next 3 years, we will be taking 30% of the Zoo’s acreage “off the grid” from a storm water discharge perspective, helping with the community’s serious combined sewer overflow problem.
Waste Management
As with most businesses and facilities, we have an existing recycling program. The idea is to take the program to the next level, further reducing our waste stream going to the landfill.
- Implementing a community, paper recycling program where the public will be able to contribute their paper waste to support the environment and the Zoo at the same time.
- Working with Hamilton County Environmental Services to do an exhaustive analysis of our waste management practices, and then implement a much more aggressive recycling program in an effort to greatly reduce the amount of generated waste material leaving the Zoo.
- Working with local vendors, along with the County to ensure that we are properly disposing our hazardous wastes, including “E-Waste” and light bulbs.
Sustainable Design & Construction
Our Education Center was the first, and is still the only, LEED Silver Certified building in the City. In the City of Cincinnati, 70% of all green house gas emissions are generated from the operation of buildings. We will be pursuing LEED Certification on all of our future projects, including Gold level certification for our new Main Entry Project.