Outreach

University Partnerships: The Sustainability Program is dedicated to creating future sustainability leaders through its partnership with local universities. The Green Impact Guide represents one of the many successful partnerships between Balboa Park and San Diego universities. The Cultural Partnership also collaborated with Point Loma Nazarene University’s MBA program to complete a carbon footprint inventory of 12 Cultural Partnership member institutions. In 2017, we partnered with The University of San Diego's Energy Policy Initiatives Center to complete a Balboa Park greenhouse gas inventory.

Community Event Participation: The Sustainability Program participates in such community events as San Diego Earthworks' annual Earth Fair, the Fleet Science Center's SustainABLE Festival, the Balboa Park Conservancy's Fiesta Botanica, Friends of Balboa Park's Arbor Day, and more.

We Are Still In: In 2018, the Sustainability Program supported the We Are Still In initiative, a public pledge in support of The Paris Agreement and working to mitigate climate change. We join 3,638 other businesses, cities, universities, and cultural institutions including the Fleet Science Center and the San Diego Museum of Man, to support action against climate change. See our pledge here.

Community Partnerships

San Diego Gas & Electric: Through a partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Balboa Park organizations have implemented over 230 energy efficiency projects. SDG&E offers a multitude of financial tools ad resources to the Cultural Partnership’s member organizations including On Bill Financing, Incentives, and Rebates. Completed projects have saved: 9,391,999 kWh, 121,570 therms, and over $1.9 million. Our educational partnership with SDG&E has engaged over 12,000 attendees.

City of San Diego: Together the Cultural Partnership and the City of San Diego have worked to complete deferred maintenance projects, utilize SDG&E’s financial tools, and benchmark energy usage on EPA's ENERGYSTAR^© Portfolio Manager. The collective goal to achieve 10 LEED certified buildings required a strong partnership between the Cultural Partnership's member organizations and City of San Diego divisions including: Environmental Services Department, Facilities Division and  Park & Recreation. To read about how this goal became a reality, click here.

CA Association of Museums (CAM):  As an active member of the CAM Green Museums Initiative (GMI), the Sustainability Program networks with museum professionals statewide to identify and share best practices to create a brighter sustainability future for museums. Through the Green Museums Accord, the Sustainability Program, along with ten Cultural Partnership member organizations, pledge to practice green businesses practices and educate the public on sustainability issues.

Balboa Park Sustainability Council: The council formed in 2013 to advise the Sustainability Program on museum and sustainability field trends. The Council discusses how to enhance visitor and staff knowledge and increase the overall sustainability of Balboa Park’s buildings. It is comprised of sustainability experts in our community, Park stakeholders, and government representatives.

Green Business Networks: The Sustainability Program is actively involved with local green business networks as a member of the City of San Diego Green Business Network and the San Diego Regional Green Business Network.

Learn more about all of our community partners on the Program Supporters page.

Elevating the brands of The Cultural Partnership's member organizations

Social Media: Marketing is one of the ways that the Sustainability Program serves the Cultural Partnership's member organizations. We want to make sure that Balboa Park visitors and community members know about all of the sustainability efforts that are going on inside the institutions. We write case studies that are published in our blog, and have Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram where we inform our followers of all of the best practices and sustainability efforts that are happening in Balboa Park.

Balboa Park Sustainability Awards

To recognize Balboa Park organizations for implementing innovative sustainability projects, each year, we award the Balboa Park Sustainability Awards at the Balboa Park Sustainability Forum. Such projects have proven to be an impactful way for organizations to provide educational programming on sustainability, improve energy and water efficiency, and increase waste diversion as sustainable operation measures. These projects demonstrate an organizational commitment to sustainability that inspire our local community to be sustainable and resilient. Visit this page to review all of the past winners.