Sustainable marina of Saint-Pierre des Embiez

The first certified Clean Harbour

‘The yacht harbour of Saint Pierre des Embiez is the first one to have achieved ISO14001 certification,’ says Patrick Longueville, who manages the harbour master’s office. The port of Embiez has adopted an environmental approach since 2004 and is acknowledged for its initiatives to promote environmental protection. It is today among the ports in the Mediterranean with the most certifications! The port has been awarded the Blue Flag, it achieved ISO14001 certification in 2006 and received the French Grand Prix for environmental education in 2005. It is also involved in the ‘Clean harbours’ initiative and is certified for ‘Port Environmental Management’ since 2008.

‘The port is in line with this virtuous approach since its setting up,’
says the current director.
‘It was built on salt works and not on the sea, according to the wishes of Paul Ricard, who wanted to limit its impact on the Mediterranean Sea, which was already too polluted.’

Respecting the will of this pioneer of sustainable tourism, the successors of Paul Ricard have undertaken since then to make Embiez an exemplary sustainable island. The inhabitants and public authorities are aware of how fragile this remarkable island is and are increasingly mindful of adopting and environment-friendly and ethical behaviour. Not less than € 5 million have been earmarked for the environment in the last 10 years. A fleet of electric vehicles has been developed since 2003, the island is connected to the wastewater system of the mainland since 2006 and the bridge for the transit of waste was repaired in 2011.

Environment-friendly facilities

The port thus logically adopted an approach similar to that of Embiez Island, from equipping pontoons with European standard energy supply bollards to new sanitary facilities, which are recognised as the most luxurious in the Mediterranean! Bioefficience cleaning products are in fact used for their maintenance. Moreover, dishwashing areas, recycling points and grey water, blackwater and wastewater recovery stations have been set up, while the fuel station was restored in 2011 to the tune of € 200,000. ‘The port of Embiez has also taken over the operation of the careening area in 2012,’ points out the port manager while taking us on a visit of the port facilities and giving us details on the daily work of the team of port agents, which comprises 18 employees in summer and 6 in winter. In addition to managing the reception of pleasure boaters, they have varied duties. The 7 pumping stations scattered on the island and connected to the sewage system of the mainland are controlled from the harbour master’s office. They are also responsible for the solid waste collection area which collects nearly 700 kg of waste oil, 700 batteries and 220 tonnes of waste materials.

‘It is not obvious to maintain the facilities to increasingly stringent standards, but we are now in a position to say that we have achieved our main objectives. The challenge now is to find new avenues for improvement,’

… says Patrick, whose ultimate aim is to offer an impeccable port to visitors and users.

The harbour master’s office is also involved in sensitising pleasure boaters to eco-friendly actions in the high season through the provision of tip sheets on eco-friendly actions in the Mediterranean upon arrival.
Furthermore, the harbour master’s office holds a ‘clean island’ day every year to clean up the beaches with the participation of its employees, pleasure boaters and members of the Institute of Oceanography. As a second step, it aims at creating more harmonious ties between the inhabitants, visitors and people working on the island.

Clean Harbours: A voluntary commitment

Significant efforts have been made on Embiez Island in the context of the Clean Harbours initiative in terms of sanitary facilities, wastewater recovery from the careening area and recycling points. Means of combating pollution have been set up, including anti-pollution barriers with hydrophobic sorbent boom-capturing hydrocarbons. Means to preserve the marine wildlife has also been implemented.

The ‘Clean Harbours’ initiative is a voluntary commitment of yacht harbour management authorities to contribute to environmental management. To date, more than 75% of ports in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region are involved in this initiative, which is supported by the State, the Regional Council, the Rhone-Mediterranean and Corsica Water Agency, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) as well as the Var and Alpes-Maritimes departments. This operation is aimed at initiating, and even, supporting, actions that promote the environmental quality of yacht harbours both in terms of sanitation and waste treatment.