GREEN PAGE – Sustainability and Environmental Policy

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Our Green Page – Sustainability and Environmental Thoughts

Tips for our participants –

What is sustainability? Are we doing as much as we can to help the environment?

We all know a few of the basics on how to reduce our carbon footprint, and many are making the shift towards an environmentally-friendly lifestyle which can improve our lives, health and have a major boost to the world around us.

Here are a few reminders to help to be sustainable and more environmentally pro-active –

Sustainability is Saving Energy – 

Low energy light bulbs

Switching off things we aren’t using, e.g. t.v. on standby, computers, printers, phones on charge, lights

Can you lower your thermostat by a degree or 2?

Do you boil the right amount of water for a cuppa or do you fill up?

Line drying rather than tumble drying

Cover pans when cooking

Sustainability is Saving Water – 

Take shorter showers

Turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth

Use shorter cycles on washing clothes

Do you have a water butt or 2 or 3?

Being Environmentally Friendly is Cuting Down on Fuel – 

Can you walk, cycle or use public transport to get to where you’re going? This also keeps you healthier!

Can you car share?

Think Environmental, Go Organic – 

The food we consume has a profound effect on our global environment

Choose local and seasonal produce

Can you cut down on the amount of meat you eat?

Avoid foods that come with too much packaging

Can you by a fair-trade, sustainable, environmentally friendly product instead?

Avoid plastic bottles!

Ditch plastic bags

Sustainability is Recycle/Re-use/Don’t use – 

Use charity shops

Try not to throw away too much

Avoid buying items with plastic packaging altogether

Have you tried freecycle or adding items you do not want onto Market Place for ‘free’ rather than throwing away?

Share and borrow between your friends

If you are giving a gift, can you find a greener option?

Can you be paperless?

Think Environmental When Choosing Your Cleaning Products and Processes – 

Can you avoid using heavy detergents like bleach etc?  Whatever you put down the kitchen sink ends up in our oceans

Can you use plant based products instead or just good old fashioned elbow grease?

Green Travel/Green Holidays – 

As we all know, human impact can have devastating effects on habitats, environments, pollution

We’ve all experienced more of the Staycation during the pandemic times – didn’t you have a wonderful time?  Didn’t you enjoy and benefit from engaging in your local community, ecology and economy?  Why not try this more often?

You can read more here by clicking through to the Green Tourism Home page for lots of help to become a more sustainable business – Green Tourism

Our sustainability and environmental responsibilities

This policy was last updated January 2023

At Mylor Sailing School we are passionate about the environment and passing this knowledge on to others.

Sustainability and the environment are very important to us.  Mylor Sailing School is committed to minimising the impact of its activities on the environment. This Policy Statement sets out how we will work towards achieving our environmental objectives (for a more in brief description and other marine information please visit this page Link to our Marine and Environment page

• We will meet the environment legislation that relates to the operation of the training school and where possible identify opportunities to adopt best practice over and above the minimum legislative requirements.
• We will ensure that safety boats are fuelled safely and responsibly to avoid spillages and pollution. There is a spill kit located at the fuel locker on the pontoon. Powerboat drivers will be trained in refuelling good practice and the use of spill kits.
• We will minimise the use of electricity in all of our activities. For example; turning off lights, all light bulbs are energy efficient models and only to be replaced with the same.
• We will minimise the use of water in all of our activities. For example; turning off taps as soon as possible and always using the water from our 3 x 200L water butts first etc.
• We will minimise the creation of waste. For example; we will only print and photocopy if absolutely essential and then print double-sided.  We are essentially a paperless business.
• Where possible, we will use email rather than printed materials to communicate and promote our activities.
• We will recycle as much waste as possible by providing adequate clearly labelled bins and increasing our waste and recycling bin collections during busy times.
• Mylor Yacht Harbour provides suitable containers for the disposal of hazardous waste streams in the recycling area in the harbour.
• Any preparations and applications for antifouling will be in a designated area. All scrapings to be collected and disposed of as hazardous waste.
• We will endeavour to take a sustainable approach to running events.
• We will promote relevant local environmental information to our water-users such as the location of voluntary no anchor zones, sensitive habitats/species.
• We will publicise our environmental commitment and promote sustainability amongst our water-users.
• We will take the environmental credentials of our suppliers into account when procuring new products. Link to our Environmental and Ethical Purchasing Policy By doing so we wish to encourage other organisations to integrate sustainability into their operations.
• We will measure our progress and review this policy on an annual basis.
• We will not use chemicals to remove weed and algae from slip ways, steps and pontoon areas, but will use a stiff brush or high pressure hose to blast it off.

• We will use environmentally friendly cleaning products wherever possible on vessels.

• We encourage staff car pooling wherever possible.

Links to the RYA GreenBlue Incentive

Tips for You and Your Boat