Practical Boat Owner magazine has presented its second annual Green Awards in recognition of marine businesses that have taken steps to reduce the environmental impact of leisure boating and make the industry more sustainable.

These awards recognise the significant steps that a number of companies in the marine industry are making to minimise their impact on the environment,” Sarah Norbury, PBO editor said after presenting representatives of the four winning companies with their awards at the Southampton Boat Show on Tuesday 14 September.

The 2010 winners in each of the four categories are as follows:
In the product category, clothing manufacturer Henri Lloyd received the award for its Blue Eco range of 100 percent recycled jackets and trousers made from its TP Eco fabric. Old jackets are shipped back to their Teijin factory in Japan and recycled into brand new fabric to produce new clothing for the range.

“We’re delighted to receive PBO’s Green Award for our innovative Blue Eco range. We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously and with this range we have created a never ending sustainable loop that will reduce carbon footprint,” Paul Strzelecki of Henri Lloyd said.

In the marine service and support category, Waveney River Centre, a holiday park and marina on the Norfolk Broads, received the award for its focus on sustainability through energy efficiency, recycling, water conservation and customer education.

“It is great to receive this award in recognition of the work we do to protect the environment. Sustainability and energy efficiency underpins everything we do at Waveney River Centre and we are thrilled to win one of PBO’s Green Awards,” James Knight of the Waveney River Centre said.

In the boat category, the reasonably-priced Greenline 33 was recognised for its use of diesel-electric hybrid drives that go a step further. The Slovenian design house Seaway has added a 1.3kW solar panel ‘power plant’ for the option of silent solar sailing. The Greenline 33 is on show on stand M130 & M132 at the Southampton Boat Show until Sunday 19 September.

“The Greenline 33 is powered by innovative diesel-electric hybrid technology and is designed to utilise renewable energy sources. I’m delighted that it has been selected to receive this award from PBO in recognition of its green credentials”, Russell Hayden of Salterns Marina, the UK distributor of the Greenline 33, said.

In the campaign category, Pangaea Explorations received the award for the worldwide marine conservation programme it runs with its ex-Global Challenge yacht out of Lymington. Sea Dragon is currently surveying the world’s oceans to measure the volume of plastic debris that’s collecting thousands of miles away from the nearest humans. “It’s an honour to receive this award from PBO in recognition of the work we do to protect the world’s oceans. Discarded plastics pose a huge threat to the environment and hopefully this will help to raise awareness of what is a massive problem facing our planet,” Ron Ritter of Pangaea Explorations, said.