MARGARET RIVER SURFING ACADEMY

Sustainability Action Plan

Our roadmap to a lower-impact surf school.

Prepared by Simon Tien, Owner & Instructor

Registered Paramedic  •  Master’s-qualified Mental Health Leader

Margaret River Surfing Academy

Rivermouth Car Park, Mitchell Drive, Prevelly WA 6285

FOREWORD FROM SIMON TIEN

I have been surfing the Margaret River coastline for more than thirty years. In that time, I have watched the surrounding environment change and the ocean remain consistent. We are noticing changes in our weather, and one thing is becoming more apparent is the preservation of our fragile beaches and unpolluted waters, so that our kids and their kids will surf and enjoy this environment forever.

This document is a practical working plan that explains what Margaret River Surfing Academy is doing and what we are committing to do over the next four years to reduce our environmental impact and protect the ocean we depend on.

As a registered paramedic and mental health leader, my professional life is built on duty of care. That duty of care extends from the people in our water to the water itself. We cannot teach people to love the ocean without educating them on how to preserve it and minimise impact.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for surfing with us.

Simon Tien

Owner and Lead Instructor, Margaret River Surfing Academy

April 2026

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Margaret River Surfing Academy (MRSA) is a Tourism WA endorsed, family-run surf school operating from Rivermouth Car Park in Prevelly, Western Australia. We deliver surf lessons, equipment hire (through our sister business Margaret River Surf Hire), guided tours, school programs, and corporate wellbeing experiences in one of the most ecologically sensitive coastal environments in Australia.

This document sets out our four-year Sustainability Plan. It is structured around five impact areas: emissions and energy, water and waste, equipment and materials, ocean and coast, and community and education. For each area we describe what we are already doing, where we currently fall short, and the measurable commitments we are making for 2026 to 2030.

Our Headline Commitments

•      Plastic-Free Operations: Eliminate single-use plastics from our operations by the end of 2026.

•      Equipment Lifecycle: Extend equipment lifespan by 50% by 2028 through repair, refurbishment, and structured re-use, reducing landfill waste from worn boards and wetsuits.

•      Ocean Education: Through our school programs and lesson briefings, build ocean and climate literacy into every customer interaction by 2027.

Why this matters

We operate at one of Western Australia’s most iconic surf locations, on a coastline that draws visitors from around the world. The same conditions that make Margaret River extraordinary — cold ocean upwellings, world-class reefs, thriving marine ecosystems — are the conditions most exposed to climate change. We are part of the local tourism economy that depends on this coast staying healthy. We accept that responsibility.

PART 1: ABOUT MARGARET RIVER SURFING ACADEMY

1.1 Who We Are

Margaret River Surfing Academy is the first established surf school in the Margaret River region. The school was founded by local surf legend Josh Palmateer and is now family-run by Simon and Asha Tien. We are Tourism WA endorsed, Quality Tourism Australia accredited, and a member of the WA Dream Collective.

Our team operates from Rivermouth Car Park, Prevelly — directly adjacent to the world-famous WSL Margaret River Pro break. Lead instructor Simon Tien holds a Bachelor of Paramedical Science, a Master’s degree in Mental Health, and more than thirty years of active surf experience along the Western Australian coastline.

1.2 Our Operating Footprint

MRSA’s operating activities, and therefore our environmental footprint, fall into the following categories:

•      Group surf lessons, private surf lessons, individual coaching, and performance coaching at Rivermouth and surrounding beaches

•      School outdoor education programs across primary and secondary year levels

•      Corporate wellbeing programs designed and led by a Master’s-qualified mental health practitioner

•      Equipment hire (delivered through Margaret River Surf Hire) including wetsuits, softboards, and performance fibreglass surfboards

•      Guided surf tours of the Margaret River region

•      Travel between our Prevelly operating base and various lesson and tour locations

•      Storage, maintenance, repair, and replacement of equipment over its operational life

1.3 The Environmental Context We Operate In

The Margaret River region sits within a globally significant biodiversity hotspot. Our operating environment includes the Leeuwin–Naturaliste National Park, fragile coastal dune systems, reef ecosystems and migration corridors for fish species, Southern Right and Humpback whales.

school. 

PART 2: WHAT WE HAVE DONE

This section documents the sustainability actions that are already part of how we operate. These are not aspirational — they are practices currently in place at MRSA as of April 2026.

2.1 Operations and Energy

•      Local operating model: All lessons, tours, and equipment hire are delivered within a 25 km radius of our Prevelly base, minimising transport emissions and supporting the local economy.

•      Compact vehicle fleet: We minimise the number of company vehicles in use and prioritise route efficiency for school groups and tour transfers.

•      Online-first administration: Bookings, communications, lesson confirmations, and invoices are managed digitally to eliminate unnecessary printing and physical paperwork.

•      Local sourcing: We source equipment, repairs, and supplies from Western Australian suppliers wherever practical

2.2 Equipment and Materials

•      Maintain-not-replace philosophy: We repair surfboards, fins, and leashes wherever possible rather than replacing them. Wetsuits are professionally laundered between hires and replaced only when genuinely worn.

•      Long-life equipment selection: We prioritise equipment quality and durability over price when purchasing softboards, wetsuits, and performance boards — longer-lasting equipment generates less manufacturing emissions per use over its lifecycle.

•      Equipment re-use: Boards and wetsuits that are no longer suitable for paid hire are repurposed for staff training, school program use, or donated to community groups where possible. We also on sell second hand equipment for further use outside of the surf school once we are finished with it.  

2.3 Water and Waste

•      Reduced packaging: We do not provide single-use bottled water, single-use food packaging, or printed brochures during lessons.

•      Sun protection without microplastics: Where we recommend sunscreen from sunbutter, we promote reef-safe and mineral-based options that minimise harmful chemical and microplastic loads on local reef systems.

2.4 Ocean Education

•      Ocean safety briefings always include a respect-for-the-environment component covering rip currents, marine wildlife, sand dune protection, and leave no trace principles.

•      Active participation in Tourism WA endorsed programs that align with sustainable tourism standards.

•      Membership of the WA Dream Collective, which promotes sustainable, locally led tourism experiences across Western Australia.

2.5 Community

•      Family-run, locally based: All MRSA staff live in or close to the Margaret River region. Our wages stay local, our spending stays local, and our community participation is direct.

•      Mental health awareness: Through the Brain Waves Global program and our wider corporate wellbeing offering, we contribute to public awareness of mental health and the role of nature-based wellbeing interventions.

Impact Area 3: Equipment and Materials

Surf equipment manufacturing has a meaningful environmental footprint. Surfboards in particular are made from petrochemical-derived foam and resins, and wetsuits use neoprene with significant embedded emissions. The most important environmental decision a surf school can make is to extend the operational life of every piece of equipment as far as possible.

Commitments

3.1 Extend the operational lifespan of our equipment fleet by an average of 50% by the end of 2028.

Pathway: Implement a structured maintenance and repair program for all hire and lesson equipment. Train all coaches in basic ding repair, fin replacement, and wetsuit care. Track equipment lifespan as a measurable metric from 2026 onward.

3.2 Establish a verified pathway for retired equipment by 2027.

Pathway: Wetsuits will be donated to recycling to the Lions’ shed and Vinnies recycling for community use. Surfboards beyond economic repair will be donated to these community groups that can extend their useful life.

Impact Area 4: Ocean and Coastal

Our operating environment is more than a workplace. It is a community asset, a tourism asset, and a fragile ecological asset that we have a direct responsibility to protect and improve.

Commitments

4.1 Our coaches and participants will participate in four beach cleanups per year, beginning in 2026 at our shared beaches

Two will be hosted at Rivermouth and our Gracetown. All cleanups will be documented.

Impact Area 5: Community and Education

As a Tourism WA endorsed operator with over thirty years of presence on this coast, MRSA has the platform and the responsibility to influence wider behaviour change. We use that platform deliberately.

Commitments

5.1 Build climate and ocean literacy content into 100% of customer-facing programs by the end of 2027.

Specific actions: All beginner lessons will include a brief evidence-based ocean stewardship message. School programs will include a structured leave only footprints in their programs, educating on beach clean-ups and care. Corporate wellbeing programs will include an option to integrate environmental literacy with mental wellbeing themes.

5.2 Maintain or expand our existing discounted access program for local children, schools, and disadvantaged participants.

We are an active member of KidsSport and GoodSports for more access for participants from low-income, regional families. We will continue to offer this access to these families and provide the sustainability education on safe sports behaviours to the community.

PART 6: ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

6.1 Commitment

This is a living document. We dedicate commitment in this plan and will continue to review and update our commitments and identify new commitments

6.2 Where to Find This Document

Public download:

mrsurf.com.au/sustainability

Updated annually:

Each March from 2027 onward

For questions, partnership opportunities, or feedback:

Simon Tien — info@mrsurf.com.au — 0418 958 264

6.3 An Open Invitation

We welcome feedback on this plan from customers, schools, corporate clients, organisations, and the broader Margaret River community. If you believe we could improve commitments, or could pursue a partnership we have not considered, we genuinely want to hear it.

CLOSING

Why we are doing this?

We are a small, family-run surf school that wants to give back to the environment in which we work, live and use daily. We are responsible for our own operations, our own footprint, and our own influence — and we are responsible for the coast we work on every day.

This plan is our commitment to be honest about all three. The ocean has given us decades of joy, livelihood, meaning, and connection. This document is a small but real attempt to give something back.

Margaret River Surfing Academy

Tourism WA Endorsed  •  Quality Tourism Australia Accredited  •  WA Dream Collective Member

Document version: 1.0  •  April 2026  •  Next review: March 2027