Overview of Reef-World’s session at DEMA 2020
Introduction
The demand for sustainable travel and adventure is growing. NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and The Reef-World Foundation are working together to bring you the latest intel in increasing your marketability while integrating environmental sustainability within your business. This session will draw on the 20+ years’ experience of United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and Reef-World’s internationally operational Green Fins initiative and NOAA Sanctuaries’ Blue Star Program - sharing lessons learned and showcasing successes. You’ll learn from the leaders and industry participants on how to increase your bottom line while supporting environmental stewardship practices. Your business and your customers will enjoy the benefits that come from lower environmental impact operations which include healthier marine life, higher retainment of staff and increased return customers. In addition, your business will be given a voice to support plans to shape the future of sustainable diving programs in US based National Marine Sanctuaries.
Meet the hosts
Chloe Harvey, The Reef-World Foundation
A passionate scuba diver and marine biologist. As a Director at The Reef-World Foundation, Chloe is leading the charity’s global Green Fins initiative. Through Green Fins, the charity is driving sustainable practices across the diving and snorkelling industry.
Marlies Tumolo, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
Marlies coordinates the Blue Star Diving Programme, Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys, and the Florida Ocean Guardian School Program. Marlies is a certified NOAA diver who loves exploring the ocean and sharing her excitement for the marine world with those around her.
Session highlights
Marlies
My name is Marlies Tumolo and I work for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. We have a couple of specific goals for today’s presentation. One is for folks to be able to learn actionable solutions to building business resilience and profitability while also implementing environmental options. Another is to share free resources and tools to assist you in this journey as you move forward in implementing green best practices.
First we're going to talk a little bit about the Blue Star and Green Fins programmes. Next, we're going to discuss the consumer shift to sustainability and what we call the sustainability pathway. We have two fantastic dive operators with us here today who will provide some case studies about how they implemented these in their business. And then we have some tools that will be available for you to use in your own organisation.
Photo by Kathleen Ng (@KatGeo.Dive) of Bubbles Dive Centre
We at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is part of a system of national marine sanctuaries around the country. These are marine protected areas managed by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and we protect more than 620,000 square miles of ocean and Great Lakes waters. Just to give you an idea of what that actually looks like, that's bigger than the state of Alaska!
I specifically work with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. This marine sanctuary is off the southern coast of Florida in the United States surrounding the island chain of the Florida Keys. If you visit the Florida Keys and you dip your toes in the water, you’re in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Our mandate is resource protection. With that in mind, we created a voluntary recognition programme called the Blue Star programme. This programme was established with the goal of reducing impacts of divers, snorkellers and anglers on the ecosystems of the Florida Keys. The Blue Star programme salutes charter boat operators who promote responsible and sustainable diving and fishing practices, helping to keep the ecosystem healthy for generations to come.
Many of the tools and actions we’ll discuss today are implemented by our Blue Star operators with the goal of having a more sustainable business. So, we encourage you if you come to Florida Keys to look before you book and seek out a Blue Star operator. With that, I'm going to pass over to Chloe.
Chloe
I'm Chloe Harvey and I'm a professional scuba diver. I've been diving for over 25 years but I'm also a marine biologist and I've been working with The Reef-World Foundation for over 10 years now. The Reef-World Foundation is a UK registered charity which delivers practical solutions for marine conservation around the world. Our main programme is Green Fins, which we run in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme.
Photo by Kathleen Ng (@KatGeo.Dive) of Bubbles Dive Centre
Green Fins covers four main aspects. Firstly, the Code of Conduct is 15 actions and activities that dive centres can follow to reduce their negative impact on the marine environment above and below the water. Secondly, a robust assessment system to measure and monitor compliance to the Code of Conduct. Thirdly, outreach and capacity building among dive centres, the wider diving industry and governments. Fourthly, where it's necessary, the strengthening of regulatory frameworks. The Green Fins programme has been developed by divers since 2004 to influence core businesses. It started off in Thailand and spread across Southeast Asia; more recently coming to the Caribbean and Egypt’s Red Sea. We work with over 600 dive centres around the world.
Sustainability is really going mainstream. More than ever, as the world suffers from the effects of this pandemic, customers are looking for products and services that align with their values that make them feel safe. They need to trust your offerings and sustainability is seen as a key indicator for that. Data from Sustainable Travel International shows that more than half of US markets are selecting their travel company based on sustainability practices. This is too big to ignore. Furthermore, a survey done by Booking.com showed 87% of travellers want more sustainable travel options. ZuBlu, an online dive holiday booking company, saw that 73% of travellers have trouble finding the best eco friendly options. So, we want dive centres to shout about what they're doing for sustainability.
We know the millennial market is focused on sustainability. This is going to grow and become a bigger deal in years to come. Governments and industry are also starting to focus on sustainable tourism campaigns to be able to access this green growing tourism market. Sustainability gives businesses new opportunities, new customers, a compelling mission, new fresh staff, but it needs to be more than handing out reusable bottles. It needs to become part of your business model.
I'd like to move on to the Golden Circle model by Simon Sinek and give a shout out to Lori Wilson from Blue Ocean Network for putting me onto this concept. Traditional businesses start with ‘the what’ (this is what we do - we take you on scuba diving trips), then ‘the how’ (this is how we do it - we're located close very nice reefs) and then ‘the why’ (this is why we do it - we’re divers that love diving). A sustainable mindset flips this around and starts right at the centre: we’re divers who love the ocean and want to protect it. Then the how: as diving has become more popular in our area, the reef has declined so we decided to review our own policies to make sure we're not contributing to that. And then the what: our services are underpinned by sustainability and our customers come to us because they know we put the environment first.
This Golden Circle model works much like a pebble being dropped in a pond. The positive mindset expands outwards and impacts more and more people in its wake. Customers really want to know your story. They want to know your ‘why’ before they give you their time and their money. They don't want to be treated as a consumer group because they treasure their individuality and they expect you to do the same. They don't want to be targeted. They like to interact with brands and feel that personal touch. If you lie and greenwash, they will tell their friends and social media networks not to trust you. These days, trust is a much more valuable commodity than money.
Now, let's give you some tips on how to build sustainability into your why. Unfortunately, it's not as quick as clicking your fingers; it is a process. We've developed a sustainability pathway over 16 years working with more than 600 dive centres through Green Fins.
Step one represents the awakening. This is the awareness of the need to change. If this journey is going to be successful, the decision to shift to sustainability must come from the top down. It can't be led by staff; it needs to come from management.
Step two is tackling some low hanging fruits. This could include reducing single-use plastics in your operation. These challenges are typically low financial investments but they're accompanied by a gentle but credible internal shift in philosophy.
Step three navigates through some bigger steps which often require more investment. This could include changing suppliers to more eco conscious suppliers or it could include changing boat engines to more environmentally friendly options or switching to renewable energies.
By step four, the business begins to embody sustainability with its ethos and real benefits start to emerge: new opportunities and collaborations such as working with local governments on environmental projects. At this point, staff choose to work with you because of your values and are happy to carry your message day in day out. They will stay with you for longer. Your customers become your leading marketing tool through word of mouth and return visits.
By step five, sustainability is your mission. It's your why. It's the reason your business exists and succeeds. By this point, you’re enjoying many benefits such as brand loyalty.
If you'd like some inspiration of brands that are well and truly on the sustainability pathway, look at two of our partners: Fourth Element and Paralenz. These companies have put sustainability at the heart of their business models.
With that said, I'd like to pass on to another sustainability leader, Mike Goldberg who is the owner and operator of Key Dives: a Florida-based Blue Star operator.
Mike
At Key Dives, we have made conservation a core principle for our business. We have removed over six tonnes of debris from our sanctuary waters. The programme has been supported by the media, by divers and we’ve advertised on social media to pick up divers from around the world to take part in our cleanup dives. It’s great for community relations. We take 2% of our gross proceeds from all of our operations and donate it to conservation. Divers want to be affiliated with an organisation that gives back. As a founder of I.Care which is dedicated to the restoration of our coral reefs I truly know the need and importance for donors. We also coordinated throughout the Florida Keys a wetsuit wrangle: we’ve collected all the wetsuits from the Keys for the last three years and have them recycled into yoga mats, placemats, coasters etc. We are involved with coral outplant excursions with local organisations to transplant corals. These are all great for families, for repeat business and ensures a future reef for future generations. I think it's a great building block for any dive business.
You might think these items are principally for destination shops but I think if a traditional, landlocked shop focuses on conservation, they’ll have greater success. When you do a trip to Bonaire, the Florida Keys, Malaysia or wherever you go, if you have one of your days dedicated to conservation, your staff are going to feel empowered and your customers are going to feel rewarded for those efforts. When you make those trips, set up a debris removal dive as part of that trip. Seek out a coral restoration organisation to help regenerate the reef. If you offer these excursions, I believe you'll get returning customers year after year.
In addition, your staff will benefit. Your dive masters, your instructors want to be affiliated with a shop that cares. The younger instructors and dive masters are more attuned to that mentality and, in many cases, those are the reasons why they became involved in diving. You’ll find not only is your staff able to sell those trips more easily but you will retain your staff because they do want to be involved with these types of efforts. In short, you'll find conservation is a business model that works. And the more effort you place into those areas you will find that you have a burgeoning business, a returning customer base and a future ocean and a future reef for the next generation.
Chloe
So from that I'd like to move on to some things that you can pick up today and get started with. The Green Fins website hosts a whole bunch of guidance, tools, documents and posters which are free to download from the Downloads section. Please do visit and use them freely. Typically, the materials are targeted either at divers or dive industry professionals. You’ll find materials such as the 15-point Green Fins Code of Conduct, a do not use toxic sunscreen poster and an infographic that gives more information. Another example is our clean and green recipes and the Green Fins Guidelines for using chemical cleaning products which explains how to use disinfectants in a way that is safe for the environment. This is particularly important today.
Another helpful tool for diving professionals is the Green Fins Dive Guide e-Course, which is a combination of all of our lessons and tools in one online training course for dive guides. The course has three modules: one explains why it's imperative to protect coral reefs, the second gives specific guidance of management techniques above the water and the third outlines management techniques below the water. The course is completely free and if anyone wants to display their completion certificate, they can pay $24 for that at the end of the course. All of those fees go towards our work to protect coral reefs.
Marlies
What we're doing here is encouraging guides to redefine the way they guide their dives so that they can keep up with the trend for green services. Providing an environmental pre-dive briefing results in a drop of the chances of divers making damaging contact to the reef from 37% to only 7%. We encourage folks to implement this pre-dive briefing on every dive. Research in the Florida Keys shows divers who receive a Blue Star pre-dive briefing caused significantly less damage to coral. To give you an idea of what could be included in this pre-dive briefing, Green Fins has a fantastic video.
Marlies
Reef-World’s research has shown about 64% of all diver contacts happened in the first 20 minutes of the dive. This is generally because divers are distracted with adjusting their buoyancy. This information is powerful for dive guides because it means that by closely monitoring your divers, especially during the first 20 minutes, you can have an impact on minimising direct contact with the reef. What's really important is ensuring divers are comfortable with their buoyancy before taking them in areas where they’ll be swimming over the reef. That vastly reduces the chances of divers coming into contact with the reef. Another interesting fact is that of all the damaging contacts made to coral by far the greatest portion of these are made by fin kicks. Fin kicks are a big problem. Encouraging divers to practice advanced techniques such as frog kicking or backfinning will help to reduce these impacts. It's also important to ensure buoyancy control is implemented and encourage divers to practice this. To provide you with some additional tools for guiding divers on environmental practices, we have another Green Fins video.
Marlies
The most successful deterrent appears to be direct intervention, which can actually reduce diver coral contact by as much as 80%. Customers enjoy feeling like they're learning and improving during their experience, especially with newer divers. Reef-World suggests that supporting your briefings with underwater corrections can reduce damaging behaviour even more and they've shown this impact can span beyond that dive into the future. With this in mind, Reef-World has created tools for dive guides to use. They've selected specific icons that can be used in a series of flashcards. These are small enough to be kept in your BCD pocket and be shown to guests underwater when it's necessary to intervene in behaviour.
To give some examples: do not chase or touch marine life, don't wear gloves, don't step on coral etc. This is an active way to show divers what is happening and help correct that behaviour. So by supplying these to your dive guides, you're strongly empowering them to be champions of these environmental causes and really bringing home your why of having the environment be the centre of your business.
Research also shows less damage is done to coral when dive guides have smaller groups. I'm sure many of you have seen this in practice. Green Fins recommends a ratio of four divers to one guide to ensure the octopus effect – which is basically when a dive guide needs arms to control all of their group – doesn't take over so they can focus on those divers and making interventions.
Chloe
We know that underwater photography leads to more chances of making those damaging contacts as well. So, it's important that close attention and support is given to any of your customers that carry cameras. Help is offered to you through the Green Fins How to Video for managing underwater photographers. The whole How To series can be found on the Green Fins YouTube channel. Please feel free to use it within your dive centres and when training staff. We also have underwater photography guidelines which are freely available for download. I'd like to hand over to one of our other fantastic guest speakers today. Pei See is Co-owner of Bubbles Dive Centre based in the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia where Green Fins is run by the brilliant Reef Check Malaysia team.
Pei See
Here at Bubbles, we have been with Green Fins for five years, which means we have had five environmental assessments done by them. Some of the feedback we’ve had from them was to use more environmentally friendly cleaning products, providing a trash bin in the boat and changing our boat engine to a more green engine. Our challenge on the island is because of our location - we’re remote and really far away from everything. It was hard to find suitable environmental friendly products in a small village. Luckily, we found a homemade cleaning recipe and it works really well. Our biggest challenge was to change the boat to a four stroke engine. We had financial restrictions but finally got around to doing that this year.
The proudest thing we have achieved is our fight against single-use plastic or trash. We do not provide single-use plastic bottles in our rooms or to our divers. We have free water refills for them. We also provide them bottles if they don't have their own bottles. We don't serve drinks with straws. In our conservation project, we also make sure guests understand that using a toxic sunscreen is harmful to the environment. We try to explain to them what are the ingredients that are harmful to the environment and what to look forward when purchasing sunscreen.
Some of our stuff actually carry the good habit they learned from us by eliminating single use plastic and trash when they go home during the monsoon break. They are very proud when they come back and say their family has reduced single-use plastic. During this year's pandemic, we picked up a lot of single use masks during our beach clean. That's heartbreaking so we decided to make reusable masks to give to our crew to use.
In order to carry out our mission to make sure that our divers have good diver behaviour, when we are recruiting we make sure all our dive crew are on the same page as us. They must be very environmentally conscious. They must be dedicated in teaching good diver behaviour to student divers and also certified divers. We make sure they mention our no gloves policy during the pre-dive briefing and point out the things to do and not to do when they are diving. When we finish our dive, we also conduct a debriefing so we can talk about the things that they learned during the dive, the things that they did wrong or the good behaviour they carried out to encourage them to continue to practice their good diving behaviour when they are diving with us or somewhere elsewhere.
We believe that communication is really important and many of our guests actually keep coming back to us because they find that they learn every time when they are diving with us and they keep bringing back their friends, hoping that we will educate their friends, so that they are more responsible when diving. And we strongly believe that this knowledge can be passed on to our other divers and then they can spread the message when they're diving somewhere else.
Key takeouts
You can grow your business through sustainable practices
Sustainability is going mainstream and it will continue to do so over the future years so you need to really jump on board.
Consider the Golden Circle: to do this with meaning, you must make sustainability your why. Make it the heart of your business and the reason your business exists and succeeds.
There are resources available for you to support you: check out the Green Fins website for a range of tools and resources
A lot of the tips we've talked about today are not expensive. It's a change in attitude and mindset which is something you can do right now.
We wish you the best of luck!
Photo by Kathleen Ng (@KatGeo.Dive) of Bubbles Dive Centre