The Pole to Pole campaign is about the Ambassadors of the Poles, about penguins, about polar bears, about the Arctic and Antarctic in general and it is about us taking responsibility for the way we live. With the focus on a broader acceptance of and action for sustainable living, this campaign aims to build upon tried and tested methods for lowering an individual’s or a community’s carbon footprint. It is not about pointing accusing fingers, forbidding certain non-sustainable actions. It is about creating an atmosphere where riding your bike, planting a tree, turning off the light, and putting on a jumper and lowering your thermostat becomes the norm, not the exception. The greater the uptake, the greater the impact. We want to create a snowball-effect and aim to get as many people all over the world to put in a little personal effort and stimulate other individuals and organisations to do the same! We want to establish effect by creating ‘mass’.
The battle against rapid climate change has only just started.
No more doubts, no more debate, we need to act!
An overwhelming number of 250 participating institutions worldwide have joined the Pole to Pole campaign and showed the commitment and involvement of the zoo community towards combating climate change. It was amazing to see how all 250 institutions spread the message each in their own way and inspiring to experience the enthusiasm of all colleagues who produced educational materials. The resources were translated from English into as many as seven European languages!
Pull the Plug
The first year ‘Pull the Plug’ was the main thrust of the Pole to Pole campaign. Many people across the globe (not necessarily zoo visitors) actively joined this pledge to save energy. Until November 2016, all individual pledges combined saved 338762 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which equals:
- Co2 emissions of 250.906 pounds of coal burned
- Co2 emissions of 26.285 gallons of gasoline consumed
- Carbon sequestered by 191 acres of forest in one
All single pledges combined generate a huge contribution to saving polar species and their habitat. Small actions, big difference! And the great news is: many people are still registering their pledge as we speak!
2 Degrees is the limit
The second year the ‘2 degrees is the limit’ petition initiative was launched. The participating institutions collected 17.160 signatures in total. The signatures have been handed over to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention at the intergovernmental meeting on climate change in Paris in December 2015. The Paris climate summit, COP21, resulted in an Agreement to fight climate change.
We can say this awareness campaign has been successful. But this is only the beginning! Action is still required. That’s why it has been decided to keep the Pole to Pole Campaign website up and running. News and developments about climate change as well as new initiatives from the conservation community will be published right here on the campaign site. You can also continue to take the pledge and use the resources.
A big thank you!
The campaign team would like to express gratitude to all zoos and individuals who were involved in making this campaign a success. Thanks to your effort and dedication we have been able to make a difference! Please continue to use energy wisely and stay connected.