Ripley’s Canada Becomes the First Aquarium to Earn BOMA BEST Certification
BOMA Canada is pleased to announce Ripley’s Aquarium has received the BOMA BEST Silver certification.
Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto, is truly a unique facility covering 135,000 square-feet with incredibly more than 1.5 million gallons of water and home to 16,000 marine and freshwater habitats from around the world. As if that was not enough, they have thousands of guests passing through their doors every year.
“I don’t believe you can fully appreciate the intricacy of Ripley’s Aquarium without first having a tour of the facility. It is an engineering marvel in terms of the amount of glass, water and aquatic inhabitants,” said BOMA Canada CEO Benjamin Shinewald. “And to see that they’ve gone to such lengths to assure that it is as sustainable as possible by becoming BOMA BEST certified is inspirational.”
From the outset, the Ripley’s team mandated that this facility be a sustainability leader and to that end partnered with BOMA BEST to help achieve that goal. As educational stewards of the environment, it was important that Ripley’s lead by example. One of the strengths of BOMA BEST is its adaptability in working with the unique strengths and weaknesses of all buildings in reducing their environmental impact. The fact that every building has something that they can achieve, they can all improve one way or another, and BOMA BEST help identify what that way is and how to achieve it.
“This certification sends a strong message to other unique venues stating that reducing your environmental footprint can and should always be a primary goal. It further demonstrates that with strong leadership and smart decisions, it is an achievable goal no matter how large and unique the venue,” says John Smiciklas, Director of Energy and Environment, BOMA Canada.
