Boat hire firm receives award for ongoing commitment to sustainability

A FAMILY-RUN boat hire firm in Henley has won an award for its commitment to sustainability.
Hobbs of Henley, in Station Road, received a British Marine Sustainability Award, at the British Marine Passenger Boat Association and Commercial Marine Conference, held at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution training college in Poole.
Managing director Jonathan Hobbs, who lives in Stoke Row with his wife, Suzy, the marketing manager, said the award came as a surprise.

Mr Hobbs said: “I’m very pleased to receive this award in recognition for the steps that we have put in place so far to become a more sustainable business.
“We have a fleet of petrol and diesel boats that do emit carbon but we are signed up to the British Marine Decarbonisation Strategy. We are committed to significantly reducing our environmental impact and achieving our emission targets.”
Hobbs is aiming for about 30 per cent of its fleet to be electric or hybrid by 2030 and for 80 per cent to be by 2040. The company aims to have a carbon net zero fleet by 2050.
Members of the Commercial Marine and Passenger Boat Association had to put in nominations for the awards last month.
Mr Hobbs said: “I was encouraged to put an application in. Our latest new boat that we purchased is a British-built hybrid vessel. It has got a small diesel engine and an electric motor, and it can cruise for six hours on electric power. We’re trying to invest in sustainability.”
Mr Hobbs added that the conference was “very well attended” with the theme being sustainability.
He said: “There were lots of interesting presentations about development in terms of making your business greener. I learned a few things from the conference, like potentially using HVO fuel, which is hydro-treated vegetable oil. I would like to put that into practice in the next couple of years.
“HVO fuel would reduce emissions significantly. I’m looking into ways of using it in some of our fleets. What we’re looking at now is if we could get a reliable supplier and whether we could put it into our existing tanks to try on some of our boats.”