Yacht crew: Here’s how to be more environmentally-conscious
Newsflash 📰; the superyacht industry isn’t the most environmentally friendly of industries, and it often receives negative press; unfortunately, this is sometimes warranted. I, personally, have seen endless single-use plastic, vast food miles, and trash upon trash, upon trash in my time onboard.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know the deal with our global issues, the stats are frightening, to say the least, and we must change how we live our lives. As the Chinese proverb says, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best is now.” So, what are we waiting for?
The power of the individual is huge; individual yacht crew making changes to daily operations can be so impactful. Here are my top tips on how yacht crew can tread a little lighter onboard:
🧼 Greener Cleaning
Superyachts require a whole different level of what 'clean' means. There are tonnes of products being used onboard. But they are literally poured into the ocean, and many standard cleaning materials are toxic for marine environments.
Alongside the increasing trend in environmentally friendly products, yachting has also increased their interest in sustainable, organic, and eco-friendly products.
Ecoworks Marine provides a broad spectrum of products that reduce environmental impacts. This is not only for cleaning products; there are also natural toiletries and cosmetics that are chemical-free and sun creams that don't cause harm to the marine environment.
Crew can also look at going green, sourcing eco-friendly and ethically sourced fabrics and materials when it comes to their uniform; check out Ethical Yacht Wear's ranges.
👀 Pay Attention
When working onboard, always be mindful and pay attention to what you are doing regarding the environment. The deck crew must make sure the anchor is dropped in a safe place, following restrictions and without damaging the seabed.
Throughout the yacht, be conscious of your energy usage, turning lights off when not in use, not running taps when not in use, and turning off the air conditioning when not needed.
Wherever you are based, there will be local initiatives, especially in helping our oceans. Research what is going on and get involved - even if it is a simple beach cleanup.
♻️ Don’t Be Lazy
The 'zero waste' movement is becoming increasingly popular as a way to reduce the amount of garbage we produce, which onboard yachts is important.
You can implement some aspects of lifestyle onboard. Yachts produce so much waste crew can take the trash out a handful of times a day - it's scary! Make sure you reuse, repair, and recycle as much as possible.
If you don't already, an easy change to make when it comes to waste is to have separate bins onboard for recycling. Take responsibility in researching each marina to check that there are proper disposal systems for recycling and use all the correct bins.
🚰 No more single-use
Our global plastic pollution problem cannot be ignored; it is huge, and we can help. Today there are so many viable alternatives crew can use onboard for things.
The first that springs to mind is plastic water bottles. However, this can be changed. If you don't have a water purification system onboard, then firstly, see if this can be implemented. If there is push-back due to budgets or time, it is straightforward to calculate how much not buying plastic water bottles will save you in both! Water Without Waste help crew with water filtration systems and reusable bottles - that can even be yacht branded! From water to sundowners, you can also eliminate plastic straws and stirrers, cutting them out or replacing them with bamboo or metal ones.
Then there are shopping bags! Use reusable shopping bags and biodegradable or material cloth produce bags when shopping. When it comes to food preparation and storage, try to reduce the plastic here also, for example, replacing plastic wrap with beeswax food wrap alternatives.
Toiletries are another issue regarding single-use plastic, and there are an increasing amount of alternative materials being used now, such as bamboo.
Microplastics are also part of this problem. One culprit is the laundry rooms. So many small fibers come off our clothes when washing them and into the ocean, so be sure to use filters that stop these from adding to the problem.
🐮We are what we eat
Being more sustainable onboard covers all departments, even the galley! Chefs can help by shopping organically, locally, and seasonally for all menus.
Sometimes, this can prove challenging in certain locations and with specific guest demands. But be positive and try to change guests' attitudes, opening their eyes to their impact. For charter guests, you can try offering local and seasonal menus onboard each charter. This not only makes it easier for the chef to plan, but it also reduces the yacht's food miles.
Cooking at sea naturally means that you will want to include seafood on your menus, pay attention to the sustainability index of the fish you buy, and ensure you avoid unsustainable seafood.
Another tip for chefs is to try and introduce meat-free days; more vegetarian meals are better for our environment, and if guests don't agree to it, at least as the crew, you can do something about it in your weekly menus.
Tossing out food means you’re not only throwing away money but also you’re also using up natural resources, and the best thing about this type of waste is we can reduce it by eating it.
What are you waiting for? Make changes today, no matter how small they are they will help in making a difference. Shoot me a note if you want to chat more about crew life and sustainability.
