ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Marina Verolme is the largest nautical hub in Latin America – and one of the largest in the world. Its desalination project, which started in 2020, aims to supply the entire local nautical centre with water. practice is high on the list of the company’s priorities and its current initiatives and innovations make for impressive reading. Green initiatives top expanding Group’s agenda BR Marinas, the largest network of marinas in Brazil, has grown by an average of 17% during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic to date. Some of its eight marinas even registered a 30% increase in membership during the months of social isolation. Prior to this global health crisis, the annual growth rate ranged between 5% and 7%. The network is confident that this trend will not only continue but actually increase in coming years as it continues its plan to expand its marina portfolio beyond the five municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro to other regions of the country. “During the pandemic, Brazilians seem to have realised that life at sea offers leisure and safety. And we have some of the most beautiful spots in the world on our coast of almost 11,000km [7,000mi],” says BR Marinas CEO Gabriela Marins. The field for action is immense. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the country has 279 municipalities facing the sea, with coastal waters offering thousands of kilometres of water area (approximately 2.9% of the territory). With this degree of opportunity, BR Marinas’ aim for expansion is perfectly positioned and the plan commenced in 1999 with the inauguration of Marina Piratas in Angra dos Reis. Today, the group has eight marinas in five municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, including Marina Verolme, the largest nautical hub in Latin America and one of the largest in the world, and the iconic Marina da Glória. Together, the marinas offer around 2,000 dry and wet berths with complete infrastructure that includes restaurants, repair services, boat sale points, shops and companies that offer boat rentals. All berthing points (Marina da Glória, Verolme, Ribeira, Bracuhy, Piratas, Búzios, Itacuruçá and Paraty) offer modern vessel operation systems and are managed according to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria. Best environmental Gabriela Marins: “Our values have always involved sustainability, long before the topic gained relevance.” Desalinisation BR Marinas is taking saltwater from Rio de Janeiro’s picture postcard Guanabara Bay and transforming it into drinkable water. Marina da Glória has already started to use the desalination plant for all the water consumed at its facilities. By mid-2022, the plant will be able to meet 100% of the local demand, which is around 134m³ (4,730ft³) of fresh water every 24 hours. The seawater desalination project started in 2020 at Marina Verolme in Angra dos Reis. The objective is to supply the entire local nautical centre with water, an innovative and effective solution to combat the growing shortage of drinking water from traditional sources. In addition to benefiting the environment, the initiative also generates a 22% saving for the company. The desalination plant installed at Verolme has a production capacity of 7m³ (247ft³) of fresh water Renowned for its picture postcard beauty, Marina da Glória is self-sufficient in water courtesy of a desalination plant. 42 www.marinaworld.com – January/February 2022
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Solar panels at Marina Bracuhy help meet energy demands. Around 96% of the energy consumed at BR Marinas’ eight marinas comes from clean sources. per hour (168m³/5,930ft³ in 24 hours). This surpasses the demand at the marina, which currently registers an average daily consumption of 150m³ (5,300ft³). In addition to the quantity, the quality of the water that results from the process is extremely clean and totally free from organic components. BR Marinas’ objective is to extend this initiative to other mooring points in the state. Renewable energy Guided by ESG criteria, in the second half of 2021 96% of the energy consumed at BR Marinas’ eight marinas came from clean sources, combining ‘free market’ and solar energy. With panels installed on the roofs of the hangars and on floating piers, solar energy is in place at Bracuhy, Piratas and Paraty. This project started in 2018 and is ongoing. Verolme Marina will also have solar panels to meet its energy demands, and Marina da Glória uses free market, a model whereby energy is obtained from generators from renewable sources. Marins sums up the importance of the objective: “We originated from the sea and our values have always involved sustainability, long before the topic gained relevance.” Environmental monitoring The environmental monitoring of species that inhabit the waters of Marina Verolme in Angra dos Reis started in April 2021. The survey, carried out by specialist biologists, focuses on analysing an artificial breakwater that borders the marina and serves as a refuge for local fauna and flora. The structure is populated by species that find its conditions suitable for colonisation in a similar manner to a natural environment, such as a rocky shore. The objective of the environmental monitoring BR Marinas is financing is to carry out a constant survey of the biome within the region. This is a way to closely assess, with the support of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), the environmental quality of the breakwater and its surroundings and thus always guarantee the health of this ecosystem. It is also an important parameter for comparisons of marine life conditions in Ilha Grande Bay as a whole. Recycling Garbage that harms sea life is, nowadays, one of humanity’s biggest problems. BR Marinas is doing its part with selective collection, recycling and collection of floating waste. More than 35 tons of recyclables have already been sent to the Light Recycle Programme. The energy discount bonus accrued is transferred to Gastromotiva, a global entity examining the transforming potential of food. In addition, with its Zero Plastic Project, BR has eliminated the use of disposable plastic cups at its marinas. In Itacuruçá, a selective collection agreement has been signed with the Cooperative of Collectors of Mangaratiba. In addition to benefiting the environment, the activity directly generates income for the families of the collectors involved. Collective efforts With the support of BR Marinas, Associação VagaLume Va’a promoted five collective efforts to clean up Guanabara Bay in the first half of 2021. The objective of the volunteers, who have been carrying out this work since 2018, is to remove the floating garbage that pollutes the banks and waters around Marina da Glória. During the six month period, thirty 200 litre bags of waste were collected in the five joint efforts. The objects collected in greatest quantity were plastic caps (1,904), cups (696), straws (411) and PET bottles (203) among other items. All the garbage collected was delivered to Marina da Glória for proper disposal. In addition to this work, VagaLume Va’a promotes the planting of native species around the Bay. “We, who love the sea, [and are] enchanted by natural beauty, with the huge number of turtles and fish that we see daily around Marina da Glória, were deeply touched when we realised the need and urgency of the commitment we all have [to have] with the environment. This is increasingly necessary. After all, Marina Paraty is an idyllic haven in clean, unspoilt waters. anyone who loves the sea should take care of it,” says Giselle Leal, president of VagaLume Va’a, which is a Hawaiian canoe association founded by women. Other initiatives had to be temporarily suspended due to the pandemic but will be resumed as soon as COVID-19 is controlled. These actions include Environment Week, the Clean Beach Action and environmental education in schools. www.marinaworld.com – January/February 2022 43
