Reef-World’s Director Chloe Harvey hosted the seminars.
The Reef-World Foundation - which coordinates the Green Fins initiative internationally in partnership with the UN Environment Programme - led another series of successful ocean conscious business seminars at at DEMA Show (13-16 Nov 2019). These free events, which were attended by representatives across all segments of the dive industry, help businesses and professionals find ways of seating sustainability at the heart of their business model.
This year, the events explained what an ocean-conscious approach is and how this will help businesses across the dive sector thrive. This included: how to plan ocean-conscious dive trips; where to find manufacturers that are reducing plastic packaging; who produces innovative green dive gear; and how to minimise environmental impact from divers and underwater photographers. Real-life examples gave attendees priceless competitor insights about what works and what doesn’t when facing certain sustainability obstacles and attendees were asked to contribute to Reef-World’s Ocean Conscious Suppliers list; a shared resource to help the dive industry find and access sustainable suppliers.
During the events, attendees discussed what is holding the diving industry back from being better role models for sustainability and what solutions might be possible to help them get over these roadblocks.
Lack of collaboration: as an industry, we don’t collaborate enough. Fear of competition is preventing beneficial partnerships. Remember, we’re all fighting against the same thing and shouldn’t be afraid to talk to each other and work together. We’re all in this together!
The gap between the recreational diving community and the science community. Jacob from Paralenz talked about how the company is trying to reduce this gap through their technology which collects data that gives us a deeper understanding of the ocean which can then be shared online and across social media. In future, they are hoping to integrate a communication platform which will help share divers’ records with scientists from conservation organisations.
The difficulty in spreading the sustainability message to businesses on the mainland, many of which are still using lots of plastic, styrofoam etc. Jim, Fourth Element, stressed the importance of voting with your wallets. By creating ocean advocates within your customer base, you can encourage people to consider their footprint by thinking a little bit ahead.
People are put off by thinking they must be “perfect” in their sustainability journey. Jim reminded attendees that it’s not about having zero impact, it’s about encouraging everyone to do their bit to have less impact. “Everybody's on a journey,” he said, “and there are incremental changes you make.” He gave the example that it's easy to give up straws and, once you’ve done that, you might consider a reusable cup every time you go and get a coffee. Then you might think about your next change; which could be switching to shampoo bars or not eating fish. The important thing to remember, he said, is that “not everybody’s on that trajectory yet” but that leading by example is a good way to encourage behaviour change in your customers.
o This led to a discussion around environmental leadership – customers are looking to dive professionals to know how to behave and what brand of gear to buy etc. Use this position of responsibility to lead by example and inspire behaviour change. “We all have the opportunity to be leaders and our customers will follow us,” he said.
Assuming customer awareness of environmental problems prevents education. Remember we’re all on different stages of our sustainability journey: your customers might not know as much as you do so don’t quit talking about the small stuff. New divers might not be as aware of their impact, especially if they don’t live by the ocean, so talk about the problems and help them understand it in a way that will inspire them to be part of the solution.
New divers aren’t yet receiving environmental messaging from the very first stages of their journey. Clear, consistent and mainstream messaging integrated in training courses will be integral to changing behaviours and making sustainable diving the norm. That’s what Reef-World is working towards through the Green Fins initiative.
Many companies are still using single-use toiletries or plastic cutlery at the breakfast buffet, for example. One audience member said they have social media templates to help feed this back to the businesses: they start with something positive about the hotel or business (pet-friendly, great staff etc.) before adding a concern about an environmental practice that’s disappointed them as a customer. Their network has found these templates – which they can copy and paste and tweak themselves – really useful and they suggested other organisations share similar templates.
Getting people involved can be challenging – for example, those outside the existing segment of divers who are already passionate about the environment might feel they don’t have time to take part in a clean-up or that making more sustainable purchasing decisions is too much of a hassle. The group talked about how they can better capture the imagination of consumers through professional development, legislation and education around more responsible consumer choices
o This also led to a discussion around recruitment and the new, younger generation of people passionate about the ocean who can give a fresh outlook on how your company can influence the industry and its customers.
Manufacturers sending shipments wrapped in plastic. Some retailers, it was mentioned, collected all this plastic and sent it back so it was the manufacturers that must deal with the problem created by their packaging.
This seminar series was made possible by the sponsorship of four companies who are already on the sustainable diving pathway and represent different stakeholder groups in the dive and travel industry:
Fourth Element is innovating dive manufacturing by producing dive gear using ghost fishing nets, biodegradable packaging made from vegetables is leading the latest environmental movement within the industry – Mission2020;
Explorer Ventures - is working towards the elimination of single-use plastics onboard its Caribbean vessels. It is also helping The Reef-World Foundation establish targeted liveaboard protocols as part of the Green Fins initiative with the hope of improving dive operator and liveaboard environmental policies worldwide;
Paralenz - a Danish tech company dedicated to the Ocean. Together with divers across the globe, they have developed a camera that enable divers to capture and share the state and life of the Ocean as a seamless part of the dive;
Blue O Two / Worldwide Dive and Sail works with partners with similar philosophies, sources local, sustainable products wherever possible, runs reef clean-ups and educates guests about how they can make a difference; for example, by encouraging them to bring eco-friendly toiletries, such as sunscreen and toothpaste.
Thank you - we hope you enjoyed The Reef-World Foundation’s Ocean Conscious Seminars and look forward to seeing you again at DEMA 2020!
Thank you to all our partners who made this seminar series possible!