Interislander Sustainability

Qualmark New Zealand Limited is New Zealand tourism's official quality agency. It is a government - private sector partnership between Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Automobile Association. Qualmark licenses professional and trustworthy New Zealand tourism businesses to use the Qualmark 'tourism's official quality mark' to help international and domestic travellers select places to stay, things to do and ways to get around. Qualmark’s two-yearly assessment of Interislander was last done in June 2011 when we scored 93%

Businesses carrying the Qualmark logo are assessed on their environmental performance - with Enviro Awards given to top performers in five key action areas.

• 1. Energy efficiency
• 2. Waste management
• 3. Water conservation
• 4. Community activities
• 5. Conservation initiatives

As part of our assessment in June 2011, Interislander is proud to have achieved an Enviro Silver Award.

Responsible Tourism Statement for Interislander

Our vision at Interislander is: “To be New Zealand’s most admired transport company”

We aim to provide passengers with a safe, comfortable and enjoyable trip while taking responsibility to reduce environmental impacts and contribute positively to the community”

At Interislander we recognise that sustainability is a journey. We have already started on this journey and have plans to improve our performance. As a starting point we have identified our commitment to:

• Identifying and trialling new and better ways of doing things which will make a tangible difference (for example reusing waste by-products, hull treatments)
• Monitoring energy consumption onboard and devising actions to improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary use
• Reducing the carbon footprint of journeys through improvements in fuel use.
• Reducing waste through informed purchasing choices, recycling systems, and staff and passenger education
• Supporting communities by providing passage for educational, cultural, aid, and conservation purposes
• Contributing to communities through sponsorship of charities, local sports, and local events
• Participating in conservation initiatives by increasing the awareness of national bio-security and tourism issues
• Purchasing local, sustainably sourced, and biodegradable products wherever possible
• Placing priority on the health and safety of passengers and staff
• Providing an open culture with initiatives in place to encourage staff to participate in developing ongoing sustainable practices

This year we have achieved:

• Development of a current ‘Good practise in sustainable practises’ report
• Development of a Sustainable Practices Action Plan
• Installation of fuel monitoring equipment to provide real time fuel consumption information · Recycling facilities onboard all ships, in the departure terminals, and in the corporate office We are always looking to add new initiatives to our list, so please feel free to let us know your ideas. We hope you enjoy your journey with us