National Aquarium
501 E Pratt St Baltimore, MD 21202 Central Maryland 410-576-3800 www.aqua.org The mission of the National Aquarium is to inspire the conservation of the world's aquatic treasures. Management and Leadership We use the following best management practices: Environment Policy Statement Environmental Team: The Aquarium has an Internal Conservation Committee (ICC), a team that meets monthly to discuss and implement ways to incorporate green practices within the Aquarium’s everyday activities and operations. The committee is comprised of Aquarium employees from various departments of the institution including: Biological Programs, Development, Accounting, Facilities, Custodial, Marketing, Education, Visitor Services, Exhibits & Design, and Communications. Selected individuals of these departments perform leadership roles in seven subcommittees of the ICC: Recycling, Programs, Communications, Internal Practices, Contract Services, Investigations, and Staff Awareness. These subcommittees are supported by members of Aquarium staff who are responsible for carrying out goals that shape a superior focus. The objectives of the ICC are to identify and implement best practices that match the conservation mission of the Aquarium; actively promote, recognize and celebrate conservation‐minded activities among staff; and be the communication hub/conduit for in‐house conservation actions. Both the steering committee and the committee meet monthly. Set Annual Goals: At the end of each calendar year the ICC and its subcommittee leaders meet to evaluate the preceding year accomplishments in addition to developing new focuses for the upcoming year. During this gathering the ICC develops a document with a maximum of five focuses and an action plan to implement them. Each focus is evaluated by its 1 conservation goal, departmental support needed, timeline, and budget. Once approved the idea is broken down into smaller achievable goals and objectives to be implemented by the ICC subcommittees. We have a purchasing policy to encourage the purchase of environmentally-friendly products and services List of our environmentally friendly products and services: The ICC subcommittees Contract Services and Internal Practices work to decrease the impact of our business practices on the environment including activities with facility improvements/renovations, fleet coordination, and our vendor/contractors. The committees work with Aquarium staff to develop, coordinate, and update Best Management Practices. They stay on top of trends and work closely with the Investigations ICC subcommittee to research and facilitate implementation of new practices. Their goal is to ensure that every internal practice is reviewed and a thoughtful/green choice is made including partnerships with our most prominent partners: Classic Catering People and Sodexo. More specifically, these committees have ensured recycling occurs at all Catered Events with our partnered food vendors; confirms the coffee our food vendors sell is fair trade, organic, and bird friendly; reassesses items sold at the gift shop (where they come from, what they are made of, etc.); and monitors progress of replacing cleaning products with environmental friendly options. Environmental Restoration or Community Environmental Projects: The National Aquarium promotes conservation through research and action projects designed to restore, protect, and manage critical species or ecosystems. Under leadership of the Conservation Department and a core group of volunteers, the Aquarium Conservation Team (ACT!), the Aquarium provides hands‐on opportunities for volunteers to restore habitats and increase environmental awareness in Bay Communities through the Chesapeake Bay Initiative. The goal of this action‐based program is to foster awareness, inspire leadership, and promote stewardship of aquatic habitats. Since its establishment in 1999 more than 150 acres of wetland forests, marshes, sand dunes, and riparian buffers have been restored with the assistance of 8,000 volunteers. Volunteers include individuals from various environmental groups, school students, scout groups and community volunteers. These volunteers have removed more than 500,000 pieces of marine debris from the Aquarium’s field station at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine and planted more than 1.5 million native plants creating vital habitat promoting a healthy diverse ecosystem. The Conservation Department continues to provide restoration opportunities to both the Aquarium Staff and community volunteers. The most current restoration projects are listed on the Aquarium’s website (aqua.org) in an effort to reach out and recruit individuals/environmental groups to participate. Waste Reduction We use the following best management practices: Have a plan in place to reduce property waste Track overall waste bills and established baseline data for quantity of wastes produced Performed a waste stream audit to determine baseline waste data and identify waste reduction opportunities Set a numeric goal of overall waste reduction Kitchen and Prep / Dining / Catering / Meetings and Events / Campground Snack Bar Compost food waste and other compostables Use effective food inventory control to minimize waste Purchase locally grown produce and other foods Purchase organic foods Purchase sustainably grown foods Do not use polystyrene coffee cups Use disposable food service items are eco-friendly - polystyrene is avoided If disposable containers are used, they are made from - bio-based materials, recycled content, and/or compostable material Use reusable dishware and glassware and minimize use of disposables Use non-bleached napkins and coffee filters Provide condiments - (cream and sugar, etc.) in bulk Use water pitchers and filtered water to minimize the use of single-use bottles Use menus and table placards as opportunity to communicate green activities Provide organic, local or sustainable food choices Use Maryland Green Travel logo or other emblem to indicate organic, local or sustainable menu choices Use screen-based ordering systems Restrooms Use bulk soap dispensers in public restrooms Use high-efficiency hand-dryers Purchase recycled-content paper towels and toilet paper Registration / Office Purchase from vendors and service providers with a commitment to the environment Encourage suppliers to minimize packaging and other waste materials Purchase recycled paper with a high percentage recycled content Make 2-sided copies / printed materials and avoid making extra copies Use recycled content paper for copies / printed materials Use vegetable based inks for copies / printed materials Reuse scrap paper for notes Reuse or donate shipping and packing supplies (peanuts, bubble wrap, etc.) Offer Leave No Trace tips and green travel education to guests Promote other green attractions, activities and Maryland Green Travel facilities Retail Sell environmentally friendly products Sell sustainable, organic or local products Buildings and Grounds Use green cleaning chemicals Dispense cleaning agents in bulk to reduce quantities used Purchase durable equipment and furniture Purchase low-VOC carpets and fabrics Use low VOC adhesives Use reused building materials or those from sustainable sources Use latex paints that are low or no-VOC Properly recycle and/or dispose of thinners and solvents - required by EPA regulations Perform preventative maintenance on all appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing and vehicles Use less toxic materials Use integrated pest management - IPM Minimize the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers in landscaping Use composted production materials for fertilizer Recycling The National Aquarium offers single-stream recycling bins to all guests that visit our buildings or our waterfronit park. Staff and volunteers have an additional opportunity to recycle additional items (batteries, corks, shoes, etc.) at collection locations throughout our buildings. We have clearly marked recycling bins or provide convenient drop off locations We are recycling: Aluminium Cans Batteries Cardboard Electronics equipment Food Composting Food Wastes Glass Fluorescent Lamps Newspaper Office Paper Packing Supplies Pallets Plastic Printer and copy machine toner cartridges Steel Cans Other: shoes, uniforms, wetsuits, energy bar wrappers, corks, kitchen grease, street banners, etc. Our single stream recycling efforts offered to our guests, staff and visitors is managed by our facilities department in cooperation with Waste Management. Recycling bins are located in all public spaces and each office space as well. In addition, specialized recycling efforts (uniforms, shoes, etc) are coordinated through a variety of vendors, made possible at a recycling station in each of our buildings and is coordinated through our Internal Conservation Committee. Our Innovative Ideas and Specifics in Recycling: old wetsuits have been made into drink coozies street banners are being made into tote bags We have an "office swap" location where you can drop off your unwanted office supplies and pick up things you may need before ordering new items. Water Conservation Have a plan in place to reduce property water usage Track water bills and established baseline data on water usage and wastewater generation Perform preventative maintenance to stop drips and leaks Use water-flow metering to discover leaks and areas of high use Use microfiber technology mops Defrost foods ahead of time in refrigerators to avoid the need for running-water defrost Use or installed the following devices: low flow restrictors on faucets and showerheads aerators on faucets (0.5 gpm or less for lavatory and 2.2 gpm or less for kitchen faucets) low flow toilets (1.6 gpf or less) low flow urinals (1 gpf or less) waterless urinals automatic or sensored faucets or toilets in public restrooms high efficiency Energy-Star rated dishwashers Have an effective landscape management plan which utilizes: native species drought tolerant species metering landscaping using BayScapes techniques Have an effective storm water plan management including: Have a green roof Use cisterns Our Innovative Ideas and Specifics in Water Conservation and Efficiency: When the Aquarium opened it's new building in 2005, we transformed the old outdoor seal pool into a 40,000 gallon cistern. The rain water collected is used to irrigate our native plant gardens in our waterfront park. Staff have also been integral in leading the Aquarium industry in developing new methods of treating exhibit water to improve water quality so that we can greatly decrease the volume needed for water changes.	Energy Efficiency We use the following best management practices: Have a plan in place to reduce property energy usage Track overall energy bills and establish baseline energy usage Have had an energy audit to identify efficiency opportunities Have an energy management system in place to track and meter energy usage Kitchen Regularly evaluated existing ovens and other kitchen equipment for temperature settings and energy efficiency opportunities Confirmed that all refrigerator, freezer and oven gaskets provide a good seal, or replaced Routinely clean condenser coils on all refrigeration equipment Have proper pilot light adjustment Setting / installing defrost timers for freezers Installed high-efficient evaporator fans for freezers and refrigerators Installed timers on the ice-machine to avoid peak demand usage Lighting: Designed use of natural lighting Use occupancy sensors to turn on/off lights Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms Minimize the use of lighting during night cleaning Use high efficiency compact fluorescent light bulbs in rooms, canned lighting or wherever possible Use high efficiency fluorescent ballasts and lamps - T-5's & T-8's Use LED lighting for:Outdoor and indoor bulbs are replaced with LED lamps, including iconic elements like the external blue wave and indoor bubble tubes. Heating and Cooling Regularly perform preventative maintenance on HVAC system Have a centrally controlled HVAC system that is activated only when occupied Minimize the use of lighting during night cleaning Energy Efficiency: ENERGY STAR computers, appliances, office equipments etc. Turn off all electrical items in unoccupied rooms when not in use or at the end of the day Purchased Green Tags or Renewable Energy Certificates to support new renewable energy resources Our Innovative Ideas and Specifics in Energy Conservation and Efficiency We've installed numerous variable frequency drives on our pumps over the past couple of years estimating that we are saving as much as 50% of our energy costs. Recycle Grease We use the following best management practices: Use a grease recycling vendor that makes bio-diesel Our grease recycling vendor is: Waste Oil Recyclers, Inc. Minimize Disposable Food Service Items We use the following best management practices: Use compostable foodservice items and collect such items for composting or direct this material to available composting operations in your area Green Events We use the following best management practices: Use ideas set forth in Maryland Green Travel's Checklist for Planning Green Events Support event planners who want to hold green events Train all event planner staff on green event techniques Provide visible recycling at all green events Minimize the use of disposable food service items Use double-sided printing and copying Use recycled content paper and soy based ink Activities we undertake to make our events green are:recycling available food scraps are composted non-disposable tableware used Other Green Practices Transportation: We use the following best management practices: Minimize the Comute of our Employees-Flexible schedules and telecommuting are options for some employees Addressing Efficient Business Travel-Green travel (walking, biking, mass transit and car pooling) are incentivized through our green commuter program. Increasing the Fuel Efficiency of our Fleet-We keep our aging fleet updated on service and repair - from inflated tires to tune-ups – to reduce energy use and emissions. When a vehicle is at the end of its life, the Fleet Administrator evaluates if a replacement is needed or if trips can be reduced through car-sharing. Future acquisitions are passed through the ICC who helps select used (reuse!) hybrid or diesel vehicles. Use of bio-diesel co-ops for fuel is currently being considered. For guests: Educate guests on the availability of mass transit Our innovative ideas to minimize the impact of Transportation:When Zipcar, the national car-sharing program, arrived in Baltimore, fleet managers saw an opportunity. Zipcar is now used as an alternative transportation option to our vehicle fleet for professional trips. Car-sharing programs have a huge impact—by keeping fewer cars on the road, pollution and oil use is reduced. As an aquarium, our fleet isn't limited to the land – sea vessels used in research and conservation expeditions have been repowered with engines that are more fuel efficient and do not burn oil mixed with gas. Green Building: Our building is LEED certified: Sustainable Building Materials:Recycled building materials were recently used in the construction on our new benches in our dolphin ampitheater and the bridge we maintain between piers 4 and 5. Other: Programs:Maryland Green Registry Awards:2011 Maryland Green Registry Leadership Award Other Innovative / Creative / Commonsense Green ideas: Each staff person is given a "Conservation Day Benefit" each year to participate in a community-based conservation event of theri choosing. Measurable Results In 2011: Composting - 20.24 tons organic waste collected Single-stream recycling - 45.72 tons diverted from landfill Technotrash - 347 pounds diverted from landfill eCycling - 1788 pounds diverted from landfill Batteries - 448 pounds diverted from landfill Waste cooking oil - 1,350 gallons recycled into biodiesel Capital Projects renovations - 75.8% construction debris recycled, 26.95 tons diverted from landfill Energy efficiency upgrades - 3.3 megawatts saved, $104,325 earned in rebates Community Supported Agriculture - 16 staff participated Green Commuter Program - 82 staff participated Paid Conservation Day benefit - 53 staff participated Watermarks printings - 3.5 tons of solid waste saved by using recycled paper, vegetable-based inks and wind power