2022 May June Marina world

ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS & INITIATIVES
Pilot phase marina: Marina di Chiavari.
How and what
The Porto Sostenibile model is
structured in five tiers and has 100
performance indicators divided into
seven areas. These are:
1. Quality of service
2. Management of tourist destination
3. Environmental responsibility and
climate footprint
4. Social responsibility and safety of
workers and guests
5. Corporate administrative
responsibility
6. Digital innovation
7. Economic reliability
Verification and certification of the Porto
Sostenibile protocol results cover:
• Sustainability assessment
• Variance analysis and improvement
plan
• Training course for protocol
implementation
• Sustainability Level Assessment by
an accredited independent third party
and issue of a Conformity Certificate
• Granting of a licence to use the Porto
Sostenibile brand
• Carbon footprint calculation in
compliance with the ISO 14064:2019
standard through the “SimaPro”
calculation software and release of
the OCF Study Report
• Annual surveillance programme
to verify the maintenance of
all requirements and improved
performance
We asked Luciano Serra for more
details:
Q: At what stage is the project
development and when will it be fully
operational?
A: The operational activities have
already started with a pilot group of
12 marinas associated with Assonat
that have confirmed they will follow the
experimental phase of the qualification
process. Data has already been
collected at each marina. Obviously,
due to the seasonality of nautical
tourism, the performance databases
will be completed after the summer
so we expect the first sustainability
assessment to be completed by the
end of 2022.
By the start of the tourist season,
operators will be involved in an update
and requalification training course
accredited by the ISPRA Ecolabel
and Ecoaudit Committee specifically
designed for the understanding and
adoption of the Porto Sostenibile
model. Both the technical support for
the application of the model and the
specialised training of marina personnel
will be carried out by Assonat and the
creator of the Porto Sostenibile model,
ICStudio – Scuola Emas Ecolabel
Toscana, a specialist consulting and
management training company. The
working group, in collaboration with the
third party accredited body, is in the
meantime developing the certification
specification.
Q: Are there any obstacles to
implementation?
A: One certainly concerns the
heterogeneity of the accountability
processes currently adopted by the
marinas. Data is collected by different
methods and this creates potential
inconsistency in terms of completeness
and comparability. To overcome this
problem, our technical partner ICStudio
is studying a web-based tool capable of
standardising and facilitating the data
collection process, cataloguing and
digital storage.
Q: Which marina entities have already
joined up?
A: Vento di Venezia, Marina di Procida,
Capo d’Anzio, Marina Cala Galera,
Marina Chiavari, Marina di San Rocco,
Marina di Scarlino, Marina di Pescara,
Marina di Teulada, Porto Barricata,
Porto di Lavagna and Yacht Broker have
formally joined the pilot phase.
This group is a good representative
sample of the different types, sizes and
organisations that exist in the Italian
yachting sector and will help us identify
and model best practices and average
sustainability performance. A further
20 marinas have expressed interest in
joining the initiative once the pilot phase
of the project has been completed.
Q: What equipment and costs are
involved for members?
A: Porto Sostenibile is a concrete and
useful tool that supports and guides the
development of sustainability policies
in recreational boating companies. No
technological investment is required
for its application other than those that
exist or are planned for any marina to
maintain or achieve its desired market
position.
The model is designed to enable
marinas to improve sustainability
via specific objectives (Maturity
Capability Model). Through annual
assessments (Maturity Capability
Levels) managers are stimulated to
improve their Environmental, Social
or Governance (ESG) performance
in terms of production efficiency, and
any technological investments that are
deemed necessary to help a voluntary
choice of business by a cost benefit
assessment.
The model does not have minimum
standards in terms of infrastructure
unlike typical certification schemes but
full legislative compliance with regard
to infrastructure and management
is required to access certification for
sustainability performance.
Q: Which of the seven areas of
performance is of most interest to
marinas?
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www.marinaworld.com – May/June 2022