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~ Creating corporate responsibility ~

By Laura Bijnsdorp

Yesterday, three locations were awarded the FEE Blue Flag Eco Label for another year through Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC); Divi Little Bay, Oyster Bay and Isle de Sol Marina.

The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to more than 4,000 beaches and marinas in 48 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean. The label works towards sustainable development of beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with Water Quality, Environmental Education and Information, Environmental Management, and Safety and Other Services.

The Blue Flag Programme is owned and run by the non-government, non-profit organization the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). In 2008, Epic became a FEE associate member.

Rueben Thompson, former project manager of EPIC and avid volunteer for the foundation, explained, "We needed to create more corporate responsibility and awareness, on all levels of society. We wanted to start running a program that doesn't only focus on residents but also on tourists. With over two million cruise-ship visitors and half a million over-night tourists, we needed something that also involved them to a certain extent. We felt that starting an eco-label program would do that. We first looked into American Eco-Labels, but that was too difficult as a non-US territory, we also realized that the European eco-labels have higher standards. With the help and sponsorship of St. Maarten tourist bureau and SHTA, we started looking for possible Blue Flag locations on the island."

In Europe, you often have authorities that are responsible for the country's beaches; on St. Maarten, this is not the case, so they chose to work together with hotels that are adjacent to the beaches and make direct use of them. The foundation held its first presentation in Cole Bay and invited the marine and hospitality industry. Many parties were interested. In 2011, the first locations were awarded Blue Flag status and St. Maarten became the first island in the Dutch Caribbean with Blue Flag locations.

To reach the Blue Flag status, the sights had to meet certain criteria. The label has to be renewed each year, and the foundation checks up on the Blue Flag locations multiple times each season to make sure the criteria are being met. Beaches for example are awarded the Blue Flag based on compliance with 33 criteria covering the following:

1) Environmental Education and Information

2) Water Quality

3) Environmental Management

4) Safety and Services

These criteria have great advantages. For example, the hotels and marinas have to make sure they dispose of waste responsibly. As St. Maarten does not have responsible waste facilities, the foundation worked together with the hotel to find an alternative, such as recycling waste, so it can be sold overseas by a local operator. They also took initiative in providing guests with reusable bags so that less plastic needs to be used.

Thompson: "It is a misconception that everything that is environmentally friendly is also costly. It actually can be cost-efficient; it can save and generate income rather than being a burden. The benefits of meeting the criteria of an eco-label are not just the fact that you are diminishing your ecological footprint; it means that people know for example that you provide accessible and clean facilities, you dispose of waste in a responsible manner, that the beach is wheelchair accessible and there is no dumping of garbage or sewage.

"You know that the water is clean; you can read the regular water-testing results on an information sign on the beach. Vessel owners and operators know that a Blue Flag marina will have proper pump out, waste-oil and garbage disposal services, that the water surrounding the boat is cleaner. Blue Flag is internationally recognized and a much sought after eco-label, with over 4,000 locations in the world. If tourists or locals could pick between a beach with a Blue Flag label or one without, which will they choose? For hotels and marinas, it is a perfect marketing mechanism."

With the success of Blue Flag, the foundation also decided to start providing another eco-label, but this time geared towards leisure establishments. The Green Key eco-label, also an FEE program has been awarded to more than 2,200 hotels and other sites in 45 countries worldwide and soon St. Maarten will add to those numbers.

Green Key aims to raise the awareness of leisure establishment staff and clients, increase the use of sustainable methods of operation and technology, run ecologically sound and responsible businesses, and thereby reduce resource and energy usage, often making the establishment more cost-efficient. This can be done for example by washing linens only by requests of the guests, and putting mechanisms in place that prevent the excessive use of water.

It is important for St. Maarten to start implementing these eco-labels, to start thinking about the benefits of responsible tourism. It's about creating awareness, taking care of our cultural and natural environment and of course being able to market St. Maarten in a positive manner.

For those interested in more information on the Blue Flag Program and EPIC, surf to www.blueflag.org or www.epicislands.org