OBC LANDS SUPREME AWARD

Auckland’s Outboard Boating Club (OBC) has been recognised for its determined commitment to environmental performance with a Supreme Best Practice Award.

It was presented by Keep New Zealand Beautiful – the administrator of the international Blue Flag environmental certification system in New Zealand – and comes just three years after OBC qualified for the prestigious Blue Flag programme.

The Blue Flag programme audits and recognises marinas, beaches and eco-tourism boats in 47 countries around the world.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful’s Christine White says this is the first time it has introduced the Supreme Best Practice Award to recognise a marina, beach or boating operator that has consistently exceeded the international standards of the Blue Flag criteria.

It honours the “outstanding commitment to continuous improvement in environmental, educational and safety criteria. OBC has been recognised for its ongoing commitment to improving its facilities and operational practices across all areas of the Blue Flag criteria.”

Says OBC Commodore Bill Berry: “With ongoing information campaigns and training events, our members and staff know the high standard they must adhere to across our marina, the boat ramps and in the maintenance of their boats. As a result, club members are also increasingly conscious about the way they go about their recreational boating and fishing and we see this as a great benefit of being part of a progressive club.

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“The motivation that drives us to do better is the beautiful Hauraki Gulf environment in front of us every day at OBC. However, enjoying the Gulf we also realise that it is an environment that is experiencing significant challenges, especially the impact of pollution. The recent closures of many of its beaches due to poor, polluted water is now a regular occurrence. At the same time, we are also facing the growing threat of climate change which will exacerbate the ecosystem problems of the Waitemata and Hauraki Gulf.”

Blue Flag focusses on five main areas: Environmental education and information, Environmental management, Boating Safety and Service facilities, Water quality and Social Responsibility.