Environmental Fact Sheet

Walt Disney World Resort is committed to minimizing its overall impact on the environment as it encourages and inspires environmentally responsible behavior on the part of its Cast Members, Guests and business partners. Emphasis is placed on effectively managing resource use through energy conservation and waste minimization, while also focusing on conserving the natural environment through science, education and leadership efforts.

Sustainable and Responsible Development

• Of the approximately 40 square miles at Walt Disney World Resort, nearly one-third of the property has been set aside as a dedicated wildlife conservation area.
• The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve is a lasting testament to the company’s commitment to develop responsibly. Disney purchased 8,500 acres in Osceola County to allow for build-out of the resort and created a model partnership between government, non-profit and business. Working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida water management districts and groups like Audubon of Florida and the Nature Conservancy, the $45 million investment is a living laboratory for land restoration. The Preserve has now grown to 12,000 acres as other companies have followed the model to expand the original tract. A “green” welcome center is a centerpiece and is open to the public.

Growing Green

At Walt Disney World Resort, conservation and environmental sustainability are not only part of a long-term commitment to responsible stewardship but also are key business components evident in day-to-day operations.

• With a focus on using more fuel efficient vehicles, Walt Disney World Resort has deployed more than 1,500 alternatively fueled vehicles-ranging from golf carts to Monorail trains to help lower emissions. Walt Disney World recently replaced the entire fleet of Security vehicles with hybrids and other fuel-efficient options. This effort has reduced fuel consumption by an average of 33% per vehicle.

• As an EPA “Energy Star Partner,” Walt Disney World Resort installed energy-saving fixtures and other changes throughout the property. During an update at The Hall of Presidents, Cast Members replaced theatrical lighting with more efficient and longer-lasting LED fixtures. LEDs consuming only 3-to-13 watts can replace 75-to-100-watt incandescent bulbs with equivalent light output.

• LED fixtures are used in 98 percent of the signs, decorations and Christmas trees at Walt Disney World Resort. The other 2 percent is in the process of being converted.

• Even Cinderella Castle glows “green” during the holidays with more than 170,000 LED white lights to glisten the Castle, using the equivalent energy of only 12 microwave ovens.

• Walt Disney World Resort is making the switch to save more energy by establishing temperature guidelines that provide a comfortable environment in both Guest and Cast Members areas.

Growing Green (continued)

• Walt Disney World Resort’s theme parks have turned off or dimmed the external lighting during non-operational hours for icons such as Cinderella Castle, Tree of Life, Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat and Spaceship Earth.

• The “snow” at Blizzard Beach and the 199-foot façade at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror are now covered with low-volatile organic compounds (VOCs) paint, which has reduced emissions from paint by more than two-thirds. Since Walt Disney World Resort began using the environmentally-friendly paint two years ago, low-VOC paint has become more widely available among most large paint distributors in Florida.

• Walt Disney World Resort maintains the state’s Green Lodging designation for all 24 resort hotels – representing the largest number of Green Lodging-certified hotels in the state. Disney’s Boardwalk Inn Resort was among the first resorts in Florida to receive the designation when the program launched in 2004. To achieve this special designation, resorts must focus on five categories: water conservation, education and awareness, waste reduction, energy conservation and indoor air quality.

Mindful Waste Management

• Recycling is a big part of waste management at Walt Disney World Resort. More than 92,000 tons of materials were recycled in 2010.

• Walt Disney World Resort’s approach to water conservation begins with using less water where possible and maximizing use of reclaimed water. Approximately 30 percent of the resort’s overall needs and 80 percent of its irrigation needs are met with reclaimed water.

• The Walt Disney World Resort uses more than two billion gallons of reclaimed water a year for irrigation of landscape, washing buses and cleaning streets at theme parks and resorts. This amount of water could fill Spaceship Earth roughly 129 times.

• In 2010 Disney Parks and Resorts began using merchandise bags containing 100% post-consumer materials. Made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), the bags release 60% less carbon dioxide during production. The combined reduction in emissions is equivalent to taking six cars off the road.

• Disney Harvest reduces food waste by gathering excess prepared food from Walt Disney World Resort kitchens and distributing it through the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. More than 1,000 local children are fed weekly through this program. In 2010, Disney Harvest gave nearly 360,000 pounds of food to the hungry in Central Florida

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom provides some unique forms of “waste.” In 2010, more than 4,680 tons of manure was sent to the compost facility from Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Tri-Circle D Ranch, producing more than 9,000 tons of compost throughout the year.

Caring for Wildlife and Animals

In addition to protecting wildlife habitats, the company is committed to animals in Florida and around the world.

• The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) supports scientific research and habitat protection through annual awards for the study and protection of the world’s wildlife and ecosystems.

• In 2010, DWCF awarded almost $1.5 million to nonprofit environmental groups and universities. The funds went toward 68 programs in 33 countries that focus on saving animals and habitats.

• Florida-based projects have received more than $3.4 million in DWCF grants since DWCF’s inception in 1995, including grants of almost $900,000 to University of Florida and $110,000 to University of Central Florida.

• Since 1995, the DWCF has supported more than 800 projects in 111 countries totaling more than $15.6 million.

• Based on a successful program at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, Disney’s Animal Kingdom launched “Adopt-a-Nest” which offers Guests adoption packages enabling them to track sea turtle nests and possible hatchings on Disney.com/Conservation. In 2010, Guests sponsored more than 200 adoptions, raising more than $7,000 for DWCF.

• The Seas with Nemo and Friends at Epcot participates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other zoological facilities and conservation groups in the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership. The Seas is a designated rehabilitation site for rescued manatees and sea turtles until they are well enough to be returned to their habitats. In 2010, Disney’s conservation and animal care professionals, along with other Walt Disney World Resort Cast Members, provided aid to the state’s endangered sea turtle population.

• In January, Disney assisted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in rescuing sea turtles impacted by record cold temperatures. Disney Animal Programs and Cast Members combined to cover roughly 11,000 miles of Florida’s coast and bring more than 500 rescued turtles to rehabilitation centers. Disney veterinarians and hospital staff worked alongside other surgeons and technicians to perform delicate surgeries and provide long-term care.

• Cast Members also converted space into temporary rehabilitation facilities for more than 60 sea turtles injured during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

• Disney’s Animal Programs teams at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot’s The Seas with Nemo and Friends are devoted to the care of more than 1,500 mammals, birds and reptiles, and more than 5,000 fish, including a number of endangered and threatened species. Both facilities are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Caring for Wildlife and Animals (continued)

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom is involved in many AZA “Species Survival Plans” – cooperative breeding and management groups for critical species – and has successfully reproduced many endangered animals, including African elephants, black rhinos, okapi, gorillas and many rare birds. In fact, Disney sent three bongo antelope born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to Kenya in a unique effort to re-establish the population there.

• Disney Animal Programs sends researchers and helps fund the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) Center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The GRACE Center provides endangered and orphaned gorillas, with a place to grow and learn, experience the forest and develop the social and survival skills necessary to live in the wild.

Connecting With the Community

Support for environmental projects and animal-related organizations are also a part of Walt Disney World Resort’s efforts – as members of the community and as volunteer citizens.

• Walt Disney World Resort has assisted the Florida Audubon Society and its Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland by recently funding a flight cage at the center used to rehabilitate eagles and other raptors before release. In 2010, Disney Cast Members also helped refurbish the center with roof repairs, pressure cleaning, replacement of food boards, maintenance to the surrounding landscape and the re-wrapping of the very large perches in the enclosures.

• Disney Cast Members volunteer for coastal cleanups, wetland re-plantings and removing invasive exotic plants from critical habitats. Walt Disney World Resort lends its support to the Florida Coastal Cleanup (Ocean Conservancy), Oakland Nature Preserve and the Nature Conservancy and the City of Orlando Keep Orlando Beautiful and Green Up Orlando programs.

• The wonder of wildlife comes to Arnold Palmer Hospital and Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children several times a year when education presenters from Disney’s Animal Programs bring owls, bunnies and other small animals offering a welcome distraction for young patients.

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Cast Members also have a considerable volunteer presence at the Center for Great Apes located in Wauchula, Florida. The Center for Great Apes’ mission is to provide a permanent sanctuary for orangutans and chimpanzees retired from the entertainment industry or from research. The center provides care with dignity in a safe, healthy and enriching environment for great apes in need of lifetime care.

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