Sustainability in Attractions: Now Is The Time
This article summarises the content of NextGen Showcase presentations on Sustainability from 2022 (Choni Fernández Veciana & Andreas Andersen) and 2023 (Choni Fernández Veciana).
Sustainability has become a top priority in the design of theme park attractions and themed experiences. Themed Entertainment sustainability trailblazers, Choni Fernández Veciana and Andreas Veilstrup Andersen, discuss the steps they are taking to make their attractions more sustainable.
Choni Fernández Veciana , Chief Sustainability Officer of PortAventura World, kicks off the sustainability education session this week by expressing the importance of understanding that:
“sustainability is not a cost, it is an investment”
Sustainability is relevant for all companies as it is a problem that affects society and our planet, so everyone has a duty to understand what they can do.
Choni explains how the warming of the planet, water stress and population growth all put a strain on natural resources. In themed entertainment this can impact the projects that can be completed. Additionally, many customers are also now more sustainability minded: conscious of carbon footprints, investing in local communities and considering sustainable travel. Visitors in the themed entertainment industry care about sustainability and therefore it is important to share the work that has been done towards sustainability goals.
The scope of sustainability was presented, how it is not only concerned with these environmental aspects but social and governance also.
Environmental – how a company manages their environmental footprint
Social – how a company manages their relationship with people
Governance – how a company conducts their business
Sustainability at PortAventura World was described by Choni as a slow cooked meal, not fast food. Going step by step, getting bigger year on year, with new challenges and achievements. PortAventura has worked for more than twenty-five years to fulfil a number of environmental, social and governance commitments that have benefited all the resort’s stakeholders.
PortAventura World has been working on fulfilling and evolving their ESG commitments over the past 25 years.
Initially this started with the creation of a “green team” which involved staff from all aspects of the resort to ensure that any new additions comply with environmental certification. This progressed in 2008 to consideration being given to people and the social aspects. This developed further in 2011 where the PortAventura Foundation was created, with a proportion of profits going to a foundation for local children and youth. This is a way in which PortAventura World is helping the local community.
Choni shares with us key learnings from twenty-five years working in sustainability. One key learning is to understand that each company has its own sustainability journey, which can be dependent on its location and the issues that each unique location presents.
“It is better to start with a small number of actions, to understand your impact on the environment and then take actions on this. Step by step this can be grown and become embedded in your company. ”
This was the journey that PortAventura World took, and sustainability is now embedded with each department working towards the sustainability goals of the company. They have transitioned as a business from being reactive to now being purpose driven.
PortAventura Dreams fulfils a social goal of the resort, providing the families of seriously ill children & adolescents with the holiday of their dreams, free of charge and in a place specially created for them.
Choni finishes by taking us through some examples of the work that PortAventura World has done around sustainability. These include the fact that they have been a zero-waste resort since 2019, the solar plant project which meets 33% of the resort's needs, and the PortAventura Dreams project to support families with unwell children. Finally, the achievement of gaining the “B Corp Certification” which acts as evidence and continued progress towards various elements of suitability as a company.
PortAventura World are proud to be a B Corp Certified company, representing their transformation from exercising reactive corporate responsibility to becoming a purpose-driven organisation.
In their December 2022 presentation for NextGen Showcase, Choni shared the stage with Andreas Veilstrup Andersen from Liseberg; Andreas helpfully broke down the topic of sustainability for us.
Andreas started with “the why” noting how it’s an agenda that “creeps closer all the time”. He gave the example of a circus now promoting that it is animal-free. Animal care was one of the first issues that in the attractions industry we have had to address. Animal-based attractions need to answer the “why” question: why are they in captivity and how does this help the greater good, for conservation or education?
This circus in Gothenburg promotes that it is 'animal-free'.
Sustainability will be the determining factor for us in the future as a society, as an industry and as companies. To do this Andreas explained there are three key steps:
Minimise the negative impacts of your business
Create other types of values for relevant stakeholders
Think long term
Andreas reassured us that this can seem an overwhelming task, however it can be broken down and addressed. To do this it is important to start by re-thinking value management, using a system value approach where businesses in no way hinder progress, and ideally drive the transition to a prosperous future for all. Where companies go beyond just offsetting but are used as facilitators in creating a transition.
Rethinking value management - how does a business truly provide value?
We were shown a number of the tools that are out there to aid in achieving sustainability goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Global Compact plan and the Global Reporting Initiative. This is a framework used for reporting annual sustainability results, it was noted how this is a good tool as when you start reporting something this is often followed by you actually doing it. Andreas explained that these tools can help with both the “what” and “how” when it comes to sustainability.
Considering both the 'what' and 'how' of sustainability.
We were then able to learn more about sustainability at Liseberg and their 5-step approach:
Know where you are
Set a direction
Choose a method
Have ambitions
Work systematically
Andreas wrapped up with some examples to help make these points more concentrated and tangible.
Green energy is an area that Liseberg has been focused on, purchasing green energy for the last 12 years and owning their own windmills since 2010. With the current energy crisis in northern Europe, Andreas noted that this has been a really great investment! A challenge that they now face is building this further, especially with the new water park planned for 2024. This is a high energy consumption project which is planned to be the first water park in the world to be heated by community heating, with central heating provided by the city.
Oceana - Liseberg's new water park, planned to be the first in the world heated by city-provided central heating.
Another example given is single-use plastic, an issue that all European parks are faced with, due to a ban coming into effect in 2024. Accessibility is an additional factor that parks do really well, and continued development is needed to meet the needs of all customers.
Andreas finished by explaining that it is important to communicate this sustainability. Liseberg talks about their sustainability work towards their goal of being a world leader in sustainability in park operations.
“There is evidence that this is working: in the past the brand of Liseberg was not seen as sustainable. However, last year Liseberg was ranked as the number one sustainable brand in the Swedish travel and tourism sector.”
These insights given by both Choni and Andreas gave the NextGen Showcase Participants a deeper understanding and appreciation of sustainability, which should help them all when it comes to addressing their client brief.
We at NextGen Showcase would like to express our gratitude to Choni Fernández Veciana and Andreas Veilstrup Andersen for their contributions to our Educational Program. Thank you!
For more information on the NextGen Showcase Educational Program, go to: NextGenShowcase.com
This article was written by NextGen Showcase Alumni: Dr. Emily Budzynski-Seymour, with support from Rosie Willoughby.
