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Chester Zoo wins BIAZA award for Sustainable Palm Oil campaign

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mother andean bear with cub at chester zoo.

Chester Zoo has won a gold award for its Sustainable Palm Oil campaign at the annual awards of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA).

This year, Chester became the first Sustainable Palm Oil City in the world. The project, led by Chester Zoo, brought together businesses, restaurants and attractions across the city, all committing to source their palm oil exclusively from sustainable sources.

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees. It’s cheap and efficient, making it the world’s most widely used vegetable oil.

Chester Zoo is asking others to take the Sustainable Palm Oil Challenge and protect some of the species at risk from deforestation in South East Asia.

Chester is the world’s first Sustainable Palm Oil City

Cat Barton, Chester Zoo’s Field Conservation Manager, also picked up the Gold BIAZA Trailblazer Award for all of her work on the attraction’s Sustainable Palm Oil campaign.

Barton drove the Sustainable Palm Oil City project forward, on top of managing various field projects with the zoo’s conservation partners in Borneo and Sumatra.

Chester Zoo swept the board at this year’s BIAZA awards, picking up 15 awards in total, seven of which are gold awards, the best in their respective categories.

Dr Kirsten Pullen, CEO of BIAZA, said: “Our annual awards ceremony recognises excellence in the work being carried out by our zoos and aquariums as well as our associate members.

Take the Sustainable Palm Oil Challenge with Chester Zoo

“Our community is committed to conservation, education, research, and having the highest levels of animal welfare and this is highlighted by the incredibly high standard of award submissions this year.”

Earlier this year, new images and details were released of Chester Zoo’s expansion plans, the new Grasslands attraction, set to open in 2022.

Blooloop recently caught up with Chester Zoo’s Jamie Christon to hear about the latest developments for the zoo and its plans for the short and longer term.

Images: Chester Zoo

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Bea Mitchell

Bea is a journalist specialising in entertainment, attractions and tech with 10 years' experience. She has written and edited for publications including CNET, BuzzFeed, Digital Spy, Evening Standard and BBC. Bea graduated from King's College London and has an MA in journalism.

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