From sparking curiosity about animal adaptations to installing solar panels on our building’s roof, Shedd Aquarium is taking steps every day to ensure a thriving blue future for wildlife and people alike.
We continually strive to operate our 458,000-square-foot aquarium, that serves nearly 2 million guests per year and 32,000 animals, sustainably. We’ve set ambitious goals for waste, water and energy reduction that will ultimately help us reduce our carbon footprint, or the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we release into the atmosphere. And so much has already been accomplished to make our operations more sustainable for all!
These actions are helping to curb climate change, setting a “green” example for the city of Chicago and each person who walks through our doors. Read on to discover how Shedd is making an impact for our shared blue planet and how you can, too.
Water
Our habitats are filled with about 5 million gallons of water that we filter and use to make both freshwater and saltwater. That same water is filtered again and reused to reduce our water consumption. A water-transfer system helps us move water out of some of our larger saltwater fish habitats and reuse it in our 3-million-gallon Abbott Oceanarium, which saves us about 2 million gallons of water per year.
Our facilities operators continue to hone backwashing procedures, which mean reversing the flow and increasing the velocity at which water passes through our filtration systems. By reducing how long that takes by just a minute, they save hundreds of gallons of water per day.
We continue to see large water savings from mechanical improvements made in 2010 to our condenser water system on the building’s roof, which cools the entire aquarium in the summer. We also collect over 600,000 gallons of rainwater per year from our roof that is used in the condenser system to keep the animals and guests cool.
At home, reutilizing rainwater is a great way to reduce water waste and to cut costs. Rain barrels can collect water that can be used for washing your car, watering your lawn and garden and they help prevent basement backups.
Waste
Shedd diverts an average of 80% of our waste from the landfill each year through recycling and composting efforts. Guests help to sort their waste while on site, choosing between recycling, compost or landfill at the trash receptacles throughout the building. The waste is then hauled to a facility and further sorted into recycled and landfilled content.
Our staff and volunteers frequently visit the behind-the-scenes “Recycling Row,” where they can drop off used clothing, electronics, light bulbs, metal, Styrofoam, batteries, ink cartridges and used latex and nitrile gloves.
In our food courts, all paper products — from Dippin’ Dots containers to drinking cups — are compostable and go through meticulous composting processes with our waste management partners. From the kitchens we collect used grease, which is chemically converted to biodiesel by students at local universities and used to power a shuttle bus fleet, reducing the need for individual vehicle transportation. Further, our partners make daily food deliveries on wood pallets or reuse plastic delivery materials for up to a decade before recycling.
Our retail partner in the aquarium’s stores plans to be single-use plastic free by spring 2025 and is tackling waste reduction at every step in the design, manufacturing, shipping and sale of products. The cuddly plushes are made from 100% recycled materials with stitched eyes and no plastic bead fillers. They have also eliminated most plastic in shipping processes by creating cardboard packaging.
As we work toward diverting even more of the aquarium’s waste from landfills, we encourage others to do the same. At-home composting bins are a great way to divert food scraps from going to landfills; bins can be made from excess wood crates or purchased from home improvement stores. You can also engage with local compost bucket drop off programs to contribute to this sustainable initiative.
Energy
Daily operations of an aquarium are incredibly energy intensive, as Shedd’s Facilities Team is tasked with maintaining a comfortable environment for the animals, staff and guests through heat waves, blizzards and everything in between. At Shedd, through smart building operations and upgrades to our facility, we have reduced our energy use by 22%.
We’ve converted most of our lighting to LED, which is more energy efficient. We installed a new chilled water plant and a 265-kilowatt solar system (solar panels) on the Oceanarium roof that helps us offset the energy we receive from our provider.
Electrical sub-meters import real-time electrical use data into our operational dashboard, which allows for around-the-clock monitoring of our electrical usage so our operators can maximize energy demand and efficiency and maintain life support systems for the animals.
Though it might not be on as large a scale as Shedd, there are easy ways you can reduce your energy consumption at home. Having proper insulation can keep your heating and cooling systems efficient and reduce your energy bill. Optimizing your home space can also help — closing curtains in the summer and opening blinds in the winter make better use of the sun’s heat or keeps it out.