Kawarau Jet rewarded for responsible tourism

Media Release from Kawarau Jet

June 16 2009

Kawarau Jet rewarded for responsible tourism

Queenstown’s Kawarau Jet, the world’s longest-established commercial jet boat operation, has achieved the Qualmark Enviro-silver accreditation in recognition of its dedication to environmental sustainable practice.

Qualmark is New Zealand’s official mark of quality for tourism, and Qualmark Enviro accreditations in gold, silver and green are awarded to businesses who display initiatives in energy, conservation, waste management, community and water.

“We are always encouraged by the responsible practices being set by our licence holders and Kawarau Jet is no exception having now achieved their Qualmark Enviro-Silver award.  Congratulations and good work on your sustainable journey,” said Geoff Penrose, Chief Executive Officer for Qualmark.

Andrew Brinsley, director of Kawarau Jet, said his company embraced a philosophy of minimising environmental impact.

“We have always sought to operate as efficiently as possible and to act responsibly with great regard to our local community and environment. Our team fully embraced the Enviro project working and thinking hard to make useful operational recommendations, many of which we adopted.”

Mr Brinsley said the Enviro-silver accreditation highlighted the company’s dedication to sustainable practices, and was a useful self analysis process.

“Much of the work within the Enviro process involved us documenting the things we already do on a daily basis but hadn’t formalised.  It allowed us to have a good look at our efforts and quantify our efficiencies and actions in terms of our energy use and impact on the environment.”

Mr Brinsley said the company was keen to continue the assessment process to drive further improvements.

“Everyone in our company is proud of the accreditation and the achievements we’ve made. We will continue to strive for efficiencies, and look forward to working towards higher accreditations.”

Celebrating its 50th birthday later this year, Kawarau Jet has been locally-owned since 1960, and was originally set up to raise funds for the Lakeland Christian Camp. It has since become well-known for its innovations and input to the tourism industry as well as its involvement in local charities and initiatives, including raising funds for the Camp and the Bruce Grant Youth Trust. 

In 1990 it established the first roll-bar systems to be used in commercial jet boats and in 1995 it developed the twin engine technology, both now standard across the industry.

The Enviro-logo accreditations in gold, silver and green were launched in May 2008 to highlight New Zealand businesses that are doing their bit for the environment.

ENDS

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