Sustainability

Sustainability

A Small Island Notices Everything

There's a limit to what a few acres of sand and a living reef can absorb. Here's what we do about it and the small things we ask of you.

The Guest Code Meet the Wildlife
Straight talk

We'd Rather Do It Than Advertise It.

We’d Rather Show You Than Tell You, so instead of a long list of things that sound good, here's a short list of what we actually do. Four areas we work on every day and six small things we ask of every guest. None of them cost you anything.

01

The Reef, First

A protected coral reef sits less than 50 feet from the shore. It is the reason people cross the water, and the first thing that suffers when a day goes wrong. We run a reef protection programme and brief every snorkel group before they get in.

  • Coral-friendly sunscreen requested from every guest
  • Guided routes keep fins clear of living coral
  • No touching, no standing: every group hears it before the water
02

Water & Energy

Everything on an island has to be carried on or made on the spot, so we waste as little as possible. Our fresh water is produced here by reverse osmosis, the paths are lit by solar, and nothing dirty ever goes back into the sea.

  • Reverse-osmosis system makes fresh water on the island
  • Solar lighting across the island
  • No waste water discharged into the ocean, and rubbish returns to the mainland
03

The Wildlife Stays Wild

Pearl Island is a year-round home for curly-tailed lizards, hermit crabs and Antillean nighthawks, plus everything living on the reef. We are a partner in animal welfare programmes and the rule is simple: the animals are not an attraction to be fed.

  • No feeding wildlife
  • Shells stay on the island: they're hermit-crab housing
  • Marked paths keep footfall away from nesting ground
04

People & Community

The least glamorous part of a sustainability page, and arguably the most important. Pearl Island was developed by local Bahamians in 1993 and reborn in 2016. It is run by a Bahamian team, and the money it makes doesn't simply leave the country.

  • Built by Bahamians, run by a Bahamian team
  • Local suppliers, and local artists on the island
  • A workplace that respects diversity and hard work
Why it matters

Coral Grows at the Speed of a Fingernail

A brain coral the size of a beach ball is older than most of the people standing on the beach. One careless fin kick can undo a decade of growth in a second. Ordinary sunscreen is the other quiet problem, because oxybenzone and octinoxate wash off and feed bleaching. Mineral sunscreen or a rash guard fixes it, and that's most of the job done.

OUR ISLAND GUIDE
Six Small Things

Our Guest Code

Six things we ask of every visitor. They cost you nothing and they're the reason there's still something here worth the ferry ride.

1
Reef-friendly sunscreen Reef-safe sunscreen only, or cover up with a rash guard.
2
Float, don't stand Watch the reef from a safe distance. Never touch it or stand on it.
3
Take your rubbish back Leave nothing behind. Everything comes back to the mainland with us.
4
Don't feed the wildlife Let the island's animals stay wild. Enjoy them from a distance and leave them to it.
5
Respect flora & fauna Stay on the marked paths and leave the landscape as you found it.
6
Save water Fresh water is precious on an island. Use it, don't waste it.

Protect What You Came For

Come for the day, keep to the six small things, and leave the island just as you found it. Do that and the island stays exactly this clear for everyone who crosses after you.

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