GCCM applauded 100% clean & green

Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard team © Clare Wray

In a piece of much needed good news, Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard (GCCM) has been commended with a perfect 100% score on their recent Clean Marina audit completed by industry peak body, Marina Industries Association. The International Clean Marina Program sets a standard for marina industry operators to protect inland and coastal waterways through the achievement of rigorous environmental management systems.

"MIA congratulates GCCM on attaining for the second time a perfect 100% score for the International Clean Marina accreditation audit and 95% for the associated Fish Friendly audit. These audits are completed by independent auditors assessing facilities to the highest environmental industry standards worldwide. With marinas such as GCCM working as hard as they do, we will continue to see marinas, shipyards and marine facilities contributing to the health of our waterways and playing an integral role in supporting waterway management plans and their regional economies," said Colin Bansgrove, CEO of MIA.

In line with environmental best practice, GCCM took proactive steps in the design and development of the facility to include the world's largest solar farm in a marina; rainwater harvesting; treatment and recycling of boat washdown water; bio retention gardens; and more recently the construction of a comprehensive recycling and refuse station for GCCM staff, tenants and customers to access. The onsite resource recovery centre is making huge inroads into increasing diversion from landfill for solid and liquid waste. Their ongoing investments and continual innovation have ensured that the landmark facility has been operating well above best practice and is widely recognised as an industry champion for environmental sustainability.

More recently, GCCM owners have pledged to remove single use plastics from the facility by 2025 and also re-attained their Fish Friendly Marina accreditation. The GCCM team have also worked with the Seabin Foundation and Suez waste management through their community outreach program to install the first Seabin device in a marina on the Gold Coast.

"Our onsite businesses including the café and restaurant have been extremely receptive to removing all single use plastics from use at GCCM. Yet we felt that didn't go far enough in addressing the global problem of reducing the amount of plastics in our waterways. So Seabin Foundation, with the support of GCCM and Suez, were able to install the first one of their devices in a Gold Coast marina. This innovative collaboration has allowed GCCM to look at waste recovery on both the land and water giving us the best opportunity to support the health of our local waterways," stated GCCM's General Manager of Customer Experience and Facilities, Luke McCaul.

GCCM, a globally accredited 5 Gold Anchor globally marine facility, is celebrating its 20th year of operations in 2020. The facility first opened in January 2000 with the clear goal of leading the industry.

"When we conceived, designed, built and opened GCCM, we knew we wanted to set the standard instead of simply meeting it. This result reaffirms our goal of excellence in environmental management, customer service and delivering quality outcomes for our customers by bringing together the best of the best in the Australian marine industry," offered CEO, Mr Trenton Gay.

For more information visit www.gccm.com.au.