Knowsley Safari has heralded the success of a major sustainability programme launched last year after it recorded a 10% drop in its energy consumption.
And the success of the programme, which centred around solar PV, LED lighting and staff engagement, has led to it plotting a course for even more ambitious gains in the coming years.
The park recruited Barden Energy’s Alan Robinson as an environmental consultant on a secondment role in order to bolster the estate’s environmental standards both to address its considerable energy consumption and align with the Earl and Countess of Derby’s – the estate’s owners – passion for renewables.
Robinson set to work through an initial audit which identified a number of ways in which the site could reduce its energy consumption relatively simply. Lighting solutions were switched to LEDs and solar PV was installed on some of its ample roof space. The safari is now generating 65kWh of its own energy through rooftop solar and has reduced its annual energy use by 10%.
“It’s all well and good coming onto a site, carrying out a quick survey and saying you use X amount of energy, do X and you will save/make money. Thankfully senior management believe in a more robust approach. We have spent time looking at the detail, understanding the business and how real investment in renewable energy can help the park now, as well as in the future. It’s very important to me that we get this right and I hope that the management team see real opportunities when we finalise the report,” Robinson said.
But tangible energy savings could not be achieved without engaging with the safari’s staff to deliver behavioural change. Robinson also established a ‘Green Team’ of environmentally conscious employees who in turn launched ‘Operation Kill-A-Watt’, wherein company teams competed to see who could save the most energy within three months.
“This really helped to get everyone on board with our new sustainability mission. It’s amazing what a little bit of competition can do to get people thinking much more about their energy consumption and if they really need to turn that light on,” Robinson said.
His sentiments were echoed by Edward Perry, director of operations at Knowsley Safari, who said: “We experienced great results from the competition, with the Safari saving 10% of energy over the three months. The teams on site really got behind the initiative, with the rhino team taking the prize for saving the most energy.”
The site is now looking even further as to what it can achieve next year. Water consumption is Robinson’s next target, while increased LED lighting will be installed on top of Automatic Metre Reading technology.
