As WhiteWater, a designer and manufacturer of water park products, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, a transfer of leadership took place. Paul Chutter, son of CEO Geoff Chutter, assumed the role of President. With the generational change comes a more urgent focus on the impact the attractions industry has on the environment.
The company is announcing a corporate-wide commitment to implement more sustainable environmental practices for all its operations and products as well as those of its suppliers, with ambitious waste and carbon footprint reduction goals in the next 20 years. It aims to be a driver of sustainable change in the industry, both up the supply chain as well as downstream to address the climate crisis.
While WhiteWater has been working in the background for many years on improving the environmental sustainability of its products, it was time to bring it to the foreground. Many of the company’s products and designs already improve water and energy savings, from risers built according to proprietary computer simulations to guard against splash, to run-out lanes with wave catchers, and the IAAPA Brass Ring Award-winning Smart Blast technology that uses variable frequency drives (VFDs) to dynamically adjust pump speeds during ride operation, thereby drastically reducing water and energy usage.
As WhiteWater looks to its next 40 years, it is clear that in order to continue doing business in the water attractions industry, all players need to confront the sustainability issue head on.
To further real end-to-end change in WhiteWater’s entire operation, all areas of the company are involved, from design to procurement, from manufacturing to marketing. Every employee is encouraged to contribute their ideas, which are collected and considered by the company’s sustainability committee. Approaching the issue holistically, the company is implementing a Sustainability Scorecard, with focus on four areas including Corporate, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, Parks and Products, and Social Responsibility.
Each of these areas is headed by a staff sub-committee consisting of employees who have the passion and expertise in the topic. They collaborate to establish baseline metrics and achieve interim milestones that keep the momentum going to realise long-term objectives.
