Premier Marinas - Creating a Sustainable Waterside
Our mission is to create waterside environments in which both people and wildlife can thrive. We demonstrate our responsibility by not only identifying our environmental aspects and impacts but also by inspiring all users of our sites to do the same. We strive to set the industry standard for environmental performance and aim to continually improve.
In 2018 Premier became certified to ISO 14001:2005, an international standard for environmental management.
This standard requires a strategic approach to environmental management. It also requires organisations to consider the factors affecting environmental performance so that significant risks and opportunities can be identified and aligned with the strategic direction of the organisation. This strategic focus facilitates the optimisation of the performance of an environmental management system, making it more sustainable, saving money and helping preserve the world’s resources for future generations.
We are also keen supporters of "The Green Blue", a joint initiative of the British Marine and the Royal Yachting Association which aims to promote environmental excellence through a code of practice that was developed with the Environment Agency.
Integral to this is our commitment to reducing the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions arising from our activities and our absolute carbon footprint has steadily decreased since 2014. We have achieved this by investing in new initiatives such as solar generation to maximise the use of renewable energy for powering our business.
Environmental Policy
Environmental Commitments
The commitment to our environmental obligations is core to our activities and our Environmental Management System provides the framework for setting, monitoring and auditing our targets.
Premier’s key environmental commitments include:
- Reduce or prevent water and air pollution through good management practice and design solutions
- Reduce waste, increase recycling, use water and energy more efficiently, promote renewable energy and encourage smarter travel choices
- Embrace sustainable development principles when developing new facilities
- Maintain our Environmental Management System in accordance with ISO 14001:2015 Certification
To achieve our commitments Premier will:
- Comply with all environmental legislation and other compliance obligations that relate to our business
- Target continual environmental improvement and set measurable environmental targets and objectives
- Respond to environmental incidents or emergencies in order to reduce our impact upon the environment
- Provide appropriate and relevant training to our workforce
- Communicate our environmental aims to all site users to include berth holders, tenants and contractors and consult with these stakeholders on our environmental programme where appropriate
- Seek to be increasingly efficient in the use of natural resources ensuring that energy, water efficiency, waste and carbon reductions are integrated into our business plan
- Manage and aim to reduce the environmental impacts of our operations through a process of risk assessments, audits, reviews, training and guidance
- Provide environmental information to all those working for or on our behalf
How we manage our environmental aspects and impacts
We have an internal reporting structure which enables all our staff to report environmental concerns, incidents and potential incidents and we have recently introduced software to make this process simpler and more efficient.
We have identified, as part of the ISO 14001 process, our aspects and impacts and these are reviewed regularly in management meetings where we strive to improve to our management system.
Below is a summary of the key areas of our environmental performance.
Energy
We are committed to running operations as efficiently as possible, ensuring we minimise energy use without negatively affecting our business. In addition, we have a responsibility to ensure that berth holders, tenants and other site users are efficient in their energy use.
A key strategy to reducing our overall energy consumption has been our investment in solar power generation, with seven of our ten sites having solar PV systems. In 2019 these systems generated a total of 294,972 kWh of electricity, representing 3.8 % of our total electricity consumption and 37.7% of Premier ‘business activities’ electricity consumption. In 2019 our investment in solar has yielded an annual CO2 reduction of 209 metric tons.
We have invested in technology to enable our berth holders to manage their electricity on line, giving them better understanding of their consumption and the ability to top up on-line. We have also invested in a range of energy saving devices, such as LED lighting and PIR controlled lighting, which contribute to substantial reductions in electricity consumption.
Water Consumption
Water is an important natural resource so we try to use as little as possible across our ten marinas. We monitor water supplied against consumption at each site and encourage good practice for all those using water within the marinas and boatyards. We encourage all site users to manage their water consumption carefully. We require that all berth holders supply their own hoses that are fitted with trigger guns to prevent water being wasted. These trigger guns are supplied by us to our berth holders. Hoses are stowed when not in use to prevent unauthorised access thus reducing the risk of Legionella and cross contamination. All water supplies are installed with the appropriate check valves to prevent back siphonage and possible water supply contamination.
Our marina ablution facilities include features such as dual flush toilets, water saving cisterns and aerators fitted to taps; all contributing to reduced water consumption. Our laundry equipment is regularly checked and maintained to ensure maximum efficiency and we upgrade equipment as required.
We are also looking at metering supplies in varying locations around the marinas in order to identify high usage areas with a view to determining what can be done to reduce usage and waste with view to metering usage where deemed necessary.
Water Quality
We undertake monthly temperature monitoring of outlets and bacterial testing in compliance with Legionnaires regulations, which includes cold water storage and calorifiers.
Pump out and or sluice facilities for the safe disposal of “black water” from boat holding tanks are available and operational at all our sites, reducing the risk of black water waste being discharged into our marinas or the sea.
Our boatyards are fitted with waste water interceptors/sumps which filter the waste water from pressure washing boats prior to its return to the watercourse or the sewer system. We are currently undertaking a review of all of our wash down areas with a view to making improvements. Consideration is being given to adding filtration elements to existing systems and complete ‘closed’ wash down filtration systems which will in turn also reduce the amount of water used for ‘washing down’ boats. These types of systems utilise the same ‘recycled’ water with replenishment only usually occurring due to evaporation.
In 2018, Premier installed a Seabin at both Port Solent and Southsea Marinas, as part of an ongoing commitment into investing in greater environmental sustainability and reducing waste in the ocean, including plastics. Seabins are floating rubbish bins, which collect floating debris in the water. On retrieval from the water, the material from the Seabins’ catch bags is sorted to extract recyclable materials, including plastics, which are sent to re-processors. Both Port Solent and Southsea’s Seabins are emptied twice a day by the marina teams.
Fuel
We supply high quality marine fuels at all of our marina fuel bays. Our fuel is sourced from two suppliers with deliveries arranged so as to minimise delivery miles. Soltron®, a natural microbiological fuel technology created from a mix of organic enzymes, is added to all our marine diesel. Soltron® is an advanced enzyme compound that increases fuel efficiency, power output and reduces green-house gas emissions. When added to fossil fuel oils, in minuscule amounts, Soltron’s® enzymes break up the long chain hydrocarbons and contaminants that prevent clean efficient combustion.
We continue to explore opportunities for carbon offset, higher biological fuel content and even fuels based on totally renewable resources.
From September 2021, the standard petrol used in the UK changed from E5 (95 octane) to E10 and we are now accepting E10 deliveries to all of the petrol fuel bays across our marinas. The new E10 petrol will be referred to as ‘Unleaded’ petrol and is indicated with new signage on each of the fuel berths. If you have any concerns please consult your engine manufacturer to assess any implications for your particular engine. To read our full statement, please click here.
To prevent fuel spillages, our staff are appropriately trained to dispense fuel safely. Our fuel systems are subject to regular maintenance and testing regimes to ensure that the system remains fit for purpose. To deal with the potential for accidental fuel spillages, each marina is equipped with an incident response plan and spill kits with staff being appropriately trained to deal with these incidents. We are also contracted to utilise the services of an external spill response unit in order to deal with any major spills that may occur.
Development
We seek to deliver environmental improvements whenever the opportunity to do so arises, such as when our properties are replaced or refurbished. Planning law requires Environmental Impacts to be assessed for most developments and thereafter that suitable management plans for managing the environmental risks around development are in place.
Building Regulations set out requirements for building efficiency and we will aim to provide buildings that meet or exceed these standards. We also take due consideration to design new buildings that blend harmoniously within the environment that they are situated within.
Dredging
All of our dredging operations are carried out under licence from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). It is the job of the MMO to regulate and plan marine activities in the seas around England and Wales to ensure that they are carried out in a sustainable way. Where possible, we look for beneficial use opportunities for our dredged material and recycle dredged material. Where there is no beneficial use opportunity, dredged materials are disposed of responsibly at designated disposal sites.
Travel
We promote sustainable commuting and have a sustainable travel policy to help us minimise our impact by challenging the need to travel. Where travel is essential staff are encouraged to car share or travel by train. Staff are also encouraged to avoid travel when possible, using video or audio conferencing as an alternative. We maintain a small fleet of fuel efficient “pool” cars and staff are encouraged to use these vehicles when travel is essential and it is recommended that staff drive these vehicles in ‘Eco’ mode. The total number of business miles travelled in these vehicles throughout 2019 equated to 48,586; these are miles that would likely have been travelled in staffs’ personal and less efficient vehicles. This fleet will be migrated to all electric vehicles as the opportunity to replace vehicles arises.
We operate a ‘cycle to work scheme’ and if a staff member undertakes business miles on their bicycle there is the opportunity to claim mileage; further promoting green travel.
Plant
Our plant and equipment are subject to regular planned maintenance to ensure that it remains as economical and efficient as possible. Some of our boat hoists have recently been replaced and some existing plant retro fitted with remote operating controls which gives the operator a much improved overview of the operation resulting in unnecessary manoeuvres being reduced. We are looking at alternatives to diesel powered plant and have recently purchased an electrical e-axle for one of our boatyards opposed to a diesel operated tractor.
Waste Management
In April 2020, Premier signed a new contract with Veolia to improve waste management and recycling across all Premier sites.
We manage full recycling facilities at all ten of our sites with dedicated bins for general waste and mixed dry recyclables such as cans, plastic, paper and cardboard. We also provide recycling facilities for glass, metals and hazardous waste including paint, lead acid batteries, oil filters and spent oil - which is recycled to make home heating fuel. Electrical equipment used by the business, including computers and printers, are re-homed or recycled. All our offices have dedicated waste paper bins.
All general waste including food waste from our berth holders' boats is 100% recycled with 0% going to landfill. In Hampshire, our general waste is sent to an Energy Recovery Facility where it is used to generate electricity. Where appropriate, non-EU food waste receptacles are provided to protect the environment against contamination from invasive flora and fauna.
Print
We actively discourage unnecessary printing throughout the portfolio - email and hand held devices are encouraged to be utilised whenever possible.