Going Green in Jersey
Going Green in Jersey
Jersey Kayak & Walk Adventures is committed to reducing the environmental impacts caused by the business’s day-to-day activities. We play an active role in encouraging our clients to discover our environment. With this comes a responsibility to ensure we minimise our impact.
The company was one of the first Eco-Active Jersey Leaders. Most staff members are Wild Life Safe (WiSe) trained guides. We are members of the Durrell ReWild Carbon scheme.
In 2013, the company won the prestigious Jersey Enterprise Environmental Award.
Jersey Kayak Adventures is reducing its carbon footprint
As part of our commitment to the environment, we reduced our carbon footprint by almost 50% by buying an electric van, switching from gas to electric heating, and recycling more. Plus, we regularly undertake beach cleans on our kayak tours.
We buy from businesses such as Peak UK, which is extending its excellent paddle-sport clothing range by using recycled products and reduced packaging. Werner Paddles recycle materials used in the manufacture of their paddles. Our old kit is often stripped down so parts can be reused for repairs and other uses. For example, old PFD foam makes an excellent mat to keep your feet warm when changing on cold days, and the foam makes good padding when storing kayaks on the trailers.
To encourage customers to use greener alternatives, we offer an eco-discount if they arrive by bus, bicycle, or foot.
The tricky bit is how to reduce our carbon footprint even further. The cost and availability of electric vans to tow kayak trailers are currently limited. However, I expect the prices will soon get more realistic.
Another challenge is finding a sea kayak manufacturer that utilises more recycled material and can recycle their products at the end of their working life.
Carbon Offsets for a Small Business
Faced with reducing our carbon footprint, we looked at carbon offsets. For a small business, carbon offset schemes can seem quite complicated. It soon became apparent that carbon offsetting (when done well) is more than just planting trees.
Durrell Rewild Carbon
In 2021, we heard that the Jersey-based Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust had created Rewild Carbon, a carbon offset project with a novel approach. Knowing that a world-famous conservation organisation founded by Gerald Durrell ran Rewild Carbon gave us confidence that this was a scheme worth considering.
Durrell links the purchase of forests in Brazil with habitat management for endangered species.
To restore the incredible colour of our planet, Durrell aims to:
Recover threatened or missing wildlife;
Revive and rebuild ecosystems and natural processes;
Reconnect people to the natural world they share, and take
Responsibility for demonstrating the value of the natural world.
Rewild Carbon invests directly in reforestation and has an integrated management scheme to support endangered creatures and local communities.
We can see where our money goes, and more importantly, it actively involves local communities in wildlife conservation.
Read more about the Rewild Carbon project and how it is helping to regenerate forests, habitats, and endangered species like the Golden Lion Tamarin here.
Responsible visitor charter
We can all help ensure that our fantastic coastline and environment remain safe for future visits by doing just a few simple things.
In our desire to view wildlife, we may unintentionally disturb wildlife. Follow the advice of our trained staff. Read our wildlife-watching code in the Environmental Guidelines.
Avoid bringing disposable water bottles with you. Use a cycle water bottle instead.
Try to reduce the amount of throw-away and single-use items you bring on our trips. Less packaging can significantly impact reducing the amount of rubbish on beaches. Paper bags and reusable lunch boxes are great ideas. On our offshore trips to Les Écréhous, we ask clients to use lunch boxes and avoid taking excess packaging.
Consider picking up one piece of rubbish from any beach you land on. Just removing one plastic item makes a difference if we all do this. If you want some fun, join us on our cable tie challenge and see how many you can gather from a beach. Mick, one of our guides, is probably the expert at spotting these irritating things, which get washed up everywhere.
Driving and parking can be a nightmare at some of our departure points. We offer a discount when you book online if you arrive by bicycle or bus. There is a discount of £2 on our kayak tours and £1 on our walks. Bus times can be accessed here.
Book activities and accommodation from members of Eco-Active.
Support local businesses. Buy local. Local businesses put more back into the community. (To learn more about this, read “The Small Mart Revolution” by Michael H Shuman.) Jersey has lots of Farm shops, and they are a culinary delight.
Corporate Social Responsibility
These are big words, but what do they mean for us in our approach to the environment, community, and how we operate as a business in Jersey?
To reduce the environmental impact of our business, our targets are:
Comply with the requirements of environmental legislation and approved codes of practice.
Aim to improve environmental performance. Currently, we monitor our carbon footprint and aim to continue to reduce this by;
We use an electric van for daily transport and our seabed walks and tours.
Travel by bus when we need to go to meetings in St Helier.
We switched our office heating from gas to electric. Jersey Electricity is currently using % renewable energy.
We replaced a diesel van with a new and more efficient model.
Supported the National Trust for Jersey’s “Hedge Fund” by buying 50m of hedging planted around local fields. The aim is to increase biodiversity and make a small local step to reduce our carbon footprint.
We are working to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions and support Durrell ReWild Carbon.
Use environmentally friendly cleaning materials to wash our kit.
We purchase kayak clothing from Peak UK because they produce paddlesport clothing made from recycled materials and have also removed plastic packaging from most of their products.
Reduce pollution, emissions, and waste arising from our activities. This is aided by our online booking system, which allows us to have more control and better scheduling of our bookings.
Raise awareness, encourage participation, and train employees in environmental matters. Most staff have completed a Wild Life Safe or Wild Life Safe Adventure training course.
Encourage similar environmental standards from all suppliers and contractors.
Participation in local environmental issues. We are members of the Jersey Ramsar Management Authority, the local Marine Biology group.
Endeavour buying local products from local suppliers wherever possible.
We try to check out our suppliers’ environmental practices.
Eco-friendly things we do:
Use biodegradable detergents and sterilising solutions when cleaning wetsuits.
Use recycled paper.
Operate energy-efficient light bulbs at the office.
Operate out of a home/office.
Offer work experience placements with Project Trident for young people.
Offer special rates for schools and youth groups.
Support local charities by offering raffle prizes and training/support for people undertaking kayaking events to raise money for charity.
Organise beach clean-ups on some of the remoter coves around Jersey by encouraging clients to pick up items of discarded plastics.
Pick up waste and discarded plastic from beaches.
Buy local whenever possible. Cleaning/washing products are bought from the Co-operative stores.
We aim to operate from just one venue daily to reduce fuel emissions.
Wild Life Safe (WiSe)
Staff have undergone Wildlife Safe training and follow the observing wildlife code. WiSe is a Training and Accreditation scheme aimed at operators of passenger pleasure craft, wildlife cruise operators, dive boats, and charter yachts who may encounter marine wildlife such as whales, dolphins, basking sharks, or seals.
Training consists of instruction about observing these creatures while simultaneously minimising disturbance.
Eco-active scheme
We were the first Jersey company to sign up for the Eco-active business scheme. This scheme encourages businesses to consider their broader environmental impact and adopt good practices.
Member of the Plastic Free Jersey campaign.
Jersey Kayak Adventures played an active role in the Ecrehous management plan, the Marine Wild Life Watching Code for Jersey, and the Seabird Action Group (Plemont headland and the puffin colony – Jersey seabird protection zone).
Memberships:
Eco Active – a Jersey-based scheme
British Canoeing
Jersey Hospitality Association
Jersey Tourist Guiding Association (JTGA)
Société Jersiaise: Member. They were founded in 1873 to study Jersey archaeology, history, natural history, the ancient language, and the conservation of the environment.
Jersey Heritage Trust: Seymour Tower accredited guides. We are responsible for updating the tower operating procedures and guiding training with JHT.
Support local businesses. Buy local, act globally. Local businesses put more back into the community. (To learn more, read “The Small Mart Revolution” by Michael H Shuman.) Jersey has lots of Farm shops, which are a culinary delight.