“As dive professionals, we are on the frontline of climate change and threats to the integrity of our oceans, imprinting us with the perspective of a conservationist that alerts us to the delicate balance which maintains the stability of marine ecosystems.” Chances are that this quote from Anna Frey resonates with many divers.

Anyone who loves and makes their living from the ocean may also be wondering what more they can do to protect it. The team at Diver’s Paradise, a Florida-based dive shop, felt that they have a responsibility to protect the coral reefs and marine ecosystems central to their business and day-to-day lives. So they created a sustainability team, the Office of Environment and Sustainability, in summer 2021.

This team’s purpose is to promote and raise the standards of sustainability and marine conservation in the diving community by building and empowering community-based systems of environmental stewardship. Anna Frey, the Chief Sustainability Officer for Diver’s Paradise, spoke to us here at PADI about the motivation and benefits for creating an Office of Environment and Sustainability at the dive shop.

Read on to learn about three reasons to create a sustainability team at your dive shop.

1. Protect the Environment and Planet

Perhaps the biggest reason to create a sustainability team is to protect the environment and planet. A sustainability team can focus on important work establishing your shop’s values, coordinating sustainability initiatives and fostering environmental stewardship within your local diving community. These local actions contribute to the global effort to create a more sustainable and resilient planet. For example, the Office of Environment and Sustainability at Diver’s Paradise guides the shop to incorporate principles of ecological and social responsibility, community capacity building, eco-tourism, and sustainability into all diving operations. These are some of their accomplishments so far:

The shop has implemented sustainability and environmental stewardship initiatives, such as reducing their use of single-use plastics in their retail (they sell JUST water instead) and supply chain practices. 
They worked with the marina in which they operate to install recycling bins across the property. 
Diver’s Paradise also offers coral disease and bleaching monitoring workshops, and they are working on securing a permit to restore mangroves on site at the dive shop.

2. Join the Sustainability Community

The second reason is that you will be joining a larger sustainability community and even creating a local community for other businesses and divers to join. As said by Anna, “Our environmental office connects us to a larger sustainability movement, allowing us to form connections and relationships with local stakeholders to pursue shared environmental goals.” Diver’s Paradise has partnered with several organizations and its local university to meet environmental goals:

Debris Free Oceans, a Miami-based organization which inspires plastic-free and zero-waste lifestyles and provides underwater diving cleanups to help protect our local coral reefs. 
University of Miami’s Rescue a Reef coral restoration and citizen science program to preserve local coral reefs and develop opportunities for involvement in marine science and conservation that are accessible and inclusive. 
University of Miami’s Shark Research and Conservation Program which conducts shark research and provides field and citizen science experiences to students and the public through shark tagging trips on Diver’s Paradise’s dive boats.
Diver’s Paradise also highlights and offers PADI AWARE conservation certification courses, demonstrating to their students and divers the importance of learning how to interact with and protect the marine environment.

3. Sustainability is Good for Business

The third reason to create a sustainability team is that sustainability is good for business. Partnerships with environmental organizations and local universities create unique, actionable and educational experiences. These will attract divers looking to support environmentally responsible dive shops. A recent survey conducted by The Reef Foundation highlights divers’ strong interest to support sustainable dive shops. Accordingly, these dive shops have exclusive opportunities for growth by creating new market segments for business expansion (such as unique citizen science programs!). Lastly, sustainable design minimizes operating costs by incorporating efficiency into every part of the dive shop’s operations, from water and energy usage to supply chain demands.

Creating a sustainability team for your dive shop is a win-win. It’s good for the planet and good for your business. A piece of advice from Anna for anyone creating a sustainability team: take the time to plan and create a strong foundation based on your values. “We were intentional about allocating a developmental period to outline our values, guiding principles, and sustainability goals before implementing any initiatives.”

Curious to read more? Check out Green Fins & PADI’s Dive Against DebrisⓇ Map.

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Business of Diving / Business Support, Conservation, AWARE, conservation, Diving, sustainabilityPADI Pros