30 | WATERLINE September 2025 The Marina Industries Association's (MIA) Clean Marina accreditation continues to set the benchmark for environmentally responsible marina operations. For d’Albora Marinas, the largest premium marina network in Australia, this program is more than accreditation; it's a framework for continuous improvement, risk management, and delivering on customer expectations. We spoke with Martin Silk, Group Risk Manager at d’Albora Marinas, about why Clean Marina matters and how it shapes the operations of their nine sites. Martin, how long has d’Albora been involved in the Clean Marina program? It goes back quite a long way. I’ve been with d’Albora for over 11 years, and the program predates that. From what I’ve seen, some of the early sites were accredited around 2011 or 2012 like Akuna Bay, for example. d’Albora has been involved at least 14 years now, and it was driven by people like Clemens Overdijk CMM and Jeff d’Albora himself. They were strong supporters of the MIA and the environmental direction the industry was heading. And since you joined in 2013, what’s kept you engaged with the program? Clean Marina gives us a very useful mechanism to check that our business is staying on track from a regulatory and environmental perspective. Every couple of years, it forces us to revisit our systems, environmental policies, safety processes, training, and ensure they’re still working. It’s easy for these things to drift if you don’t have a structured review point, and the Clean Marina program gives us that. Does the Clean Marina framework influence day-to-day operations? Definitely. It helps establish systems that continue functioning in the background. At d’Albora, we run six-monthly internal audits against the mandatory Clean Marina criteria at each site. That process builds awareness and keeps staff engaged with what needs to be done—spill kit maintenance, signage checks, stormwater controls, and so on. It’s become part of the rhythm of operations. How about benchmarking across your portfolio, does the program help with that? Yes, it creates a bit of healthy competition. We share reaccreditation scores internally, and naturally, site managers want to see their site perform well. That kind of transparency drives performance. More broadly, it allows us to identify areas where one marina might be excelling and use those insights to improve practices at others. What message does the accreditation send to the market and your customers? Internally, we don’t use it as a big marketing driver, but it’s definitely useful in terms of industry visibility. If someone’s applying for a job at a Clean Marina, or if you’re talking to a regulator like the EPA in New South Wales, the accreditation shows that you’ve jumped through the right hoops. As for customers, it builds trust. We’re exploring better ways to communicate that, like changing signage to say “Fish Friendly Marina” instead of just “No Fishing.” That kind of language helps convey our environmental stewardship in a more positive and constructive way. CLEAN AND CONFIDENT CLEAN MARINA ACCREDITATION WITH D’ALBORA GROUP RISK MANAGER MARTIN SILK From a risk management standpoint, how does Clean Marina contribute? It’s very helpful. The criteria cover a wide range of risk factors, hazardous chemicals, shipyard activities, and waste management. It forces you to look closely at your compliance across all these areas. What’s also important is that the MIA uses independent auditors, often environmental scientists, who don’t just tick boxes. They want to see records, proof that systems are actually in use, not just written down. That level of scrutiny is exactly what you want in an audit. Is the program aligned with your broader ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) goals? In part, yes. d’Albora Group has a strong ESG focus and so we’re working to align with that across our portfolio. Clean Marina helps us cover some key environmental elements, and the new MIA Sustainability Pledge is also starting to address other ESG pillars. That said, sustainability in our industry still has room to grow. We’re just starting to have conversations about things like ethical supply chains and product sourcing, topics that go beyond environmental compliance and into broader ESG territory. For marinas that aren’t yet accredited, what role can Clean Marina play in setting up systems and policies? It’s a very solid starting point. The handbook alone is full of practical guidance and templates. I think it’s better to build your internal policies using the Clean Marina criteria as a foundation than to lift generic documents off the internet that don’t reflect your operation. Clean Marina helps keep things relevant and focused, which is important, because so many policies out there are too long, too vague, or written in a way that staff can’t use effectively. What’s next for d’Albora and Clean Marina? By the end of the year, we’re aiming to have 14 facilities accredited, which is essentially our whole network. That’s only possible because we’ve built common systems, used tech to manage documentation, and created consistent internal processes. Even so, each new acquisition still requires bootson-the-ground work, checking spill kits, replacing signage, and ensuring the new site meets our internal standards. We don’t need Clean Marina to do more right now. It already gives us plenty to do, and the bar is set appropriately. In fact, I’d say the reaccreditation audits should be even tougher sometimes, it’s important we don’t get too comfortable. A score of 95% should mean you’re really nailing every aspect. That’s the value of the program: it sets a standard but also motivates us to improve each time. With its multi-site footprint and strong leadership ethos, d’Albora Marinas continues to show how the Clean Marina program isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s a catalyst for better operations, smarter risk management, and stronger environmental responsibility across the marina industry. For more information about the Clean Marina Program contact Chris Stone, MIA Operations Manager at manager@marinas.net.au CLEAN MARINA
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