Sustainability

We recognize that the activities of some of our parks are water intensive and are committed to a rational use of water resources through effective water management practices.

Objetives

1. Minimize water consumption.
2. Encourage the use of non-freshwater where possible, with special attention to areas classified as high or extremely high water risk areas.

Success Stories

• NIGHT-TIME IRRIGATION AT MOVIE PARK (GERMANY)

In the summer of 2022, Movie Park (Germany) began watering its green areas at night instead of during the day. The change was originally due to unusually high temperatures, which caused a high rate of evaporative water loss during irrigation.

The benefit from this change in the irrigation schedule was twofold: the water required for irrigation decreased; and the amount of groundwater used instead of drinking water for this purpose increased. The groundwater available for extraction at Movie Park has a limited flow rate; during the day, the groundwater is used for other purposes such as water attractions and ornamentation, while at night almost all of the available flow can be used for irrigation.

This practice is a good example of the two principles of efficient water management: spend less (less water) and spend better (match water quality to the intended use).

• WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS AT SLAGHAREN (NETHERLANDS)

At the beginning of 2023, the installation of reverse osmosis water filtration systems was carried out in the Aqua Mexicana water attraction area of the Dutch park Slagharen. These filtration systems enable the recirculation of hot water from the attractions, thus reducing the amount of water discharged into the sewer system and water consumed from the network.

The use of these systems also implies energy savings, as the recirculated water is at a higher temperature than that from the network and requires less energy to heat up to the necessary temperature for use. Additionally, the project has an additional benefit in reducing water pollution and the amount of waste sent to the sewer system.

The positive impact of this project on the park's environmental management is threefold: it reduces energy consumption, decreases water consumption, and improves waste management.

Through environmental awareness campaigns, we foster the awareness of both employees and partners, as well as customers, regarding responsible consumption and waste reduction.

Objetives

1. Minimize the amount of waste produced.
2. Reduce the use of single-use plastics.
3. Reduce food waste in catering activities.
4. Minimize the amount of waste sent directly to landfill.

Success Stories

• Parque de Atracciones “Reusable Cups” (Spain)

Parque de Atracciones de Madrid (Spain) has had three refill points for reusable cups with soft drinks since July 2022, thus reducing the number of single-use cups used in the park. The system consists of buying a reusable half-litter cup with an integrated chip with which customers can serve themselves the drinks they want at the refill points.

The system enables guests to continue using the same cup on subsequent visits to Parque de Atracciones de Madrid and on visits to the Madrid Zoo Aquarium and Aquopolis in Villanueva de la Cañada. The initiative has been successful with different groups of guests, from teenagers to families, thus fostering awareness among our visitors and promoting the reduction of waste generated.

• Too Good to Go and Parques Reunidos strengthen and expand their collaboration

In 2023, the German parks Belantis and Movie Park, as well as the Spanish parks Parque de Atracciones, Selwo Marina, Warner, and Zoo, began collaborating with TooGoodToGo. This company helps parks manage surplus meals and reduce food waste through its app, offering these meals at a reduced price as their expiration date approaches.

These new additions join the Norwegian park Tusenfryd (collaborator since 2020), making now a total of 7 parks within the Parques Reunidos group currently collaborating with TooGoodToGo in several European countries.

Thanks to the initiative, more than 3,800 meals were saved from being wasted in 2023, resulting in an estimated avoided greenhouse gas emissions of over 9 tons of CO2 equivalent. Plans are underway to extend this collaboration to several more parks in 2024.

We work to guarantee the future of biodiversity, both in the wild, with programs for endangered species, and in the zoos, through education, raising conservation awareness and participating in research projects in collaboration with different research entities, and universities. We also recognise the importance of reducing impacts on biodiversity throughout our supply chain by sourcing sustainable products.

Objetives

1. Foster the protection of biodiversity, and the conservation of natural heritage.
2. Foster knowledge of the different animal species, the different ecosystems and their conservation, as well as the conservation and protection of threatened or endangered species.

Success Stories

• Obstortuemed – Marineland (France)

Since 2012, the Marineland Association has led the conservation program ObsTortueMed, i.e. Observation of Sea Turtles in the Mediterranean, improving knowledge on the evolution of the population structure and on the identification of threats specific to a given region, through five lines of action:

1. Observations in the sea: the objective is to define the situation of sea turtle populations off the coasts of the Maritime Alps and the Var by recording their presence, abundance and geographic distribution off coasts.
2. Autopsies of dead stranded sea turtles: Autopsies are made of dead sea turtles found off the coasts of the Maritime Alps and the Var to identify the causes of death and the threats to these protected species. All the results of the analyses feed into the monitoring program of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the European INDICIT program.
3. Wildlife rehabilitation center: The center is a “hospital” dedicated to sea turtles that are stranded or in distress off the coasts of the Maritime Alps and the Var. The sea turtles in distress are taken in and cared for until they are released into the sea.
4. ObsTortueNest: An alert network was created to ensure the surveillance and monitoring of turtle nesting, as well as the prospecting of beaches with dogs specifically trained to detect sea turtles.
5. Interaction between fishing and sea turtles: To improve knowledge of the interactions between fishing activities and sea turtles, Marineland Association works in collaboration with the Maritime Alps Departmental Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Sea Farming.

In 2022, ObsTortueMed was enriched with a new component:

CapCaouanne: Study of a maritime area identified as a major sea turtle frequentation zone off the coast of Nice. During the summer, a 5-day campaign was organized at sea to check the abundance of sea turtles in this area and collect biological data.

• Sustainable palm oil at Blackpool Zoo (Uk)

Blackpool Zoo is undergoing a process to use only sustainable palm oil across all sectors of the park, from catering to animal feed. In 2016, a comprehensive audit of palm oil was initiated with the aim of identifying any products used or sold in the park with unsustainable palm oil, as well as working with suppliers to transition to the exclusive use of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO).

All products sold for human consumption within Blackpool's catering facilities are free from palm oil or contain sustainable palm oil. Annual audits continue to ensure that these standards are maintained and, in addition to achieving CSPO certification for all food products, efforts are ongoing to eliminate unsustainable palm oil in other products used in the park.

Currently, Blackpool supports the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the leading body for sustainable palm oil standards, and backs their efforts to ensure that sustainable palm oil becomes the norm.

• Reintroduction of the Argentine Giant Otter – Madrid Zoo (Spain)

In collaboration with the Rewilding Argentina Foundation, Madrid Zoo moved a giant otter to the Argentine Iberá National Park reserve so that it could be reintroduced in their natural habitat.

This species, classified as 'Endangered' internationally, became extinct in Argentina in the 1980s.

Nima, one of the 5 giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) born in 2020 at Madrid Zoo, celebrated her third year of life in what is now her new home, Iberá Park in Argentina. Participation in this international conservation project is aimed at reversing the extinction of key species for its ecosystem by recovering some of the most representative ones such as the giant otter.

Nima travelled there from Madrid Zoo last January and, after a period of quarantine, she joined Coco, a male otter, with whom she learned to fish and with whom she formed a family with the offspring of another female. Once she reproduces successfully, the couple will be released with their offspring into the great Corrientes wetland.

Collaboration with European zoos to recover the giant otter in Argentina is being decisive in reintroducing this species which has been extinct in Argentina for more than 30 years.