The CYCA is proud to have introduced a number of measures to limit the Club’s environmental footprint as part of an ongoing sustainability initiative. The Club and its Members, as sailors, enjoy a natural affinity with the ocean and as such it makes sense to commit to ensuring the protection of the natural environment.

Through a Board- and management-led commitment, the CYCA has introduced a range of measures that will ensure the Club limits its environmental footprint and moves towards best practice across a range of areas. The Club is committed to influencing, educating and informing Members on the ways they can contribute to a sustainable future, while ensuring our Members can continue to do what they love doing in an environmentally friendly manner.

So the CYCA has made a range of commitments and changes that will complement six SeaBins, soon be installed around the Club’s marina, that will collect debris and rubbish in the Rushcutters Bay area.

These commitments include:

• Installed more than 100 solar panels on the roof of the newly refurbished Clubhouse, both reducing the Club’s energy bill and providing a renewable energy source that is used across food, beverage, operations and administration departments;
• Shifted to paperless communications across a range of areas of activity, with the Sailing Department recently committing to new technology from our partners at Sharp that will both reduce our long-term in-house printing volumes and minimise our impact on the environment;
• Implemented a range of motion-sensor lighting in bathrooms across the premises in addition to it being utilised in the John Messenger Building, improving efficiency and reducing the Club’s carbon footprint;
• Removed plastic bags from the Clubhouse, with Members and guests encouraged to either go bagless or use provided paper bags; and
• Removed plastic straws from the Clubhouse, with Members and guests encouraged to go strawless. These measures are hoped to be seen by the Membership as a positive – small steps that will ultimately make a big difference.

“The Club is proudly making a stand, ensuring we do all we can to limit our impact on the  environment – whether we’re on the water or off it,” CYCA Commodore Paul Billingham says.

“These measures are the first of many the Club and the Board are taking to ensure the CYCA continues to lead the way, and not just with our sailing program.

“We are satisfied that our initial steps are making a difference but we know there is plenty more work to be done. So we ask Club Members, guests, sailing fans and the general public to get behind us and help drive the conversation and steps around sustainable and environmentally friendly decision-making and practices.

“In particular we are keen to reduce single-use plastics in our sport – notably plastic water bottles that are used for convenience on many boats – but need our sailing Members to think differently here to make a real difference”

Throughout the Club’s Youth Sailing programs there is a real push to instil these environmental values to the younger generation and show how they can achieve these at the Club-hosted regattas.

The CYCA is also looking to extend their commitment to sustainability through our on-water events. The Sailing Department and Youth Sailing Academy are working towards Clean Regatta accreditation for events in the second half of the year with a number of initiatives already in place by the YSA. These include on-water bottle refill provisions, banning single-use bottles and going paperless.

The CYCA will be announcing more steps and improvements around sustainability in the future.