On October 16, the Aquarium was awarded a 2015 Cool Planet Award in the education sector from The Climate Registry and Southern California Edison for its efforts in energy and carbon management. The Aquarium also hosted the awards ceremony.
The Cool Planet Award recognizes Southern California Edison business customers for demonstrating exemplary leadership in energy and carbon management within their business size and industry sector. The Cool Planet Award Ceremony celebrates the outstanding commitment of these SCE business customers to implement energy efficiency projects, participate in demand response programs, and establish environmental and greenhouse gas emissions management systems.
Nominated businesses were evaluated by representatives from The Climate Registry and SCE using a point-based system focusing on an organization’s participation in a variety of SCE integrated demand side management strategies, including energy management and demand response programs and conducting energy audits, as well as a focus on an organization’s carbon management strategies, such as publicly available energy management and climate action plans and the measuring and reporting of an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint.
Over the years the Aquarium has increased the size of the institution and its attendance from 1.1 million to 1.5 million, yet it has kept its environmental footprint in check. Through a series of efforts to curb energy needs, save water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Aquarium has kept energy usage at a constant level, reduced water usage by a third, and cut our carbon footprint by 25 percent.