Green Key Gold

The international hallmark assesses an organisation's sustainable entrepreneurship in the following areas: management (compliance with regulations), communication, social involvement, water, cleaning, waste, energy, building and greenery, guest and employee mobility, food and drink, purchasing and textiles. A concrete, practical example is discussed each month in a series of articles on sustainable entrepreneurship at Burgers' Zoo.

Nature conservation is one of Burgers' Zoo's main goals

Nature conservation is very important to Burgers' Zoo! So important, in fact, that it is one of the zoo's four main objectives. We actively contribute to conservation projects worldwide and participate in dozens of European population management programmes for endangered species.

For over thirty years, Burgers' Zoo and Swiss butterfly park Papiliorama Zoo have been successfully protecting a nature reserve in Belize that now covers an area of over four hundred square kilometres. The area in the Central American country includes mangroves, coral reefs, tropical dry forests and tropical rainforest and is home to animals such as jaguars, manatees, tapirs,  crocodiles, and toucans.

Future For Nature

Burgers' Zoo is also co-founder of Future For Nature. Each year, an independent, international jury of experts selects three young, talented conservationists from hundreds of participants as winners of the Future For Nature Award. In addition to this prestigious international award, each winner receives EUR 50,000 to spend on the winning project. Celebrities such as Sir David Attenborough, Jane Goodall, Frans de Waal and Redmond O'Hanlon have presented the awards over the years. At the tenth edition, His Royal Highness Willem-Alexander was the guest of honour.

With the Future For Nature Family, we have established a network of international conservationists who collaborate on the same projects and exchange valuable ideas. Burgers' Zoo also supports the GlobeGuards, a federation for international nature conservation. Twenty-three Dutch nature conservation organisations have joined forces in this organisation.

Burgers' Zoo wants to use its passion and admiration for animals and nature to benefit conservation. By inspiring people with the beauty of nature at our zoo, we want to effect a lasting change in nature and nature conservation behaviour. A great example of this is Burgers' Mangrove, which serves as an ambassador for the conservation project in Belize. All of the money donated by visitors in the money-spinner at the Mangrove's exit goes to Belize. Burgers' Zoo covers all overhead costs.