Northwest Marine Trade Association Receives Environmental Award

March 11, 2013 | by Ben Lee and Peter Schrappen

We’d like to take a moment to give a shout-out to Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA) for a recent achievement in the Environmental world. Okay, maybe not so recent, as this happened nine months ago – but better late than never.

In June of 2012, NMTA received the Leading Environmental Practices Award from the Association of Washington Business. This award was given in recognition of NMTA leading the way on the legislation to phase out copper bottom paint and for launching the Clean Boating Foundation.

“Washington’s private sector businesses have shown tremendous innovation in the 20 years since we first began our Environmental Excellence Awards,” said AWB President Don Brunell. “The companies we honor today have chosen business practices that take into account their impact on the environment.”

This award shows that NMTA is busy doing much more than putting on the Seattle Boat Show, their marquee event. They also strategize on ways to Grow Boating and they spend considerable time in Olympia convincing legislators how important boating is to the Washington economy.

Shepherding through the copper paint phase-out legislation – the first of its kind in the country – took a great deal of courage for a marine trade group like NMTA so it’s appropriate that they’ve been recognized for it. And we, of course, appreciate NMTA’s environmental commitment by creating the Clean Boating Foundation (which you, if you’re still reading this, also seem to appreciate!).

Way to go, NMTA – your example of marine business doing right for the environment is something that we hope becomes a model for the rest of the world.

 

In Photo (from left to right): George Harris, NMTA President/CEO; Bill Youngsman, former NMTA Chair of the Board; Peter Schrappen, Executive Director of Clean Boating Foundation; Tom Hosea, AWB Chair of the Board.