DEE CAFFARI
The circumnavigator on why sailing isn’t as green as we think
The water sports industry and more specifically, recreational yachting is on the verge of risking its reputation. Both as a sport and the pastime of cruising we talk of it being environmentally friendly, harnessing the power of nature. Comparing sailing to racing cars, off-road motocross and flying, we have been looking rather good. But we can no longer ‘greenwash’ the marine industry. It must step up and take responsibility for what it produces, how it uses materials and markets its products and sport. As consumers, we need to be aware of the lifecycle of the products we use to make informed, responsible decisions about what we buy and how we dispose of old products.
If we do not tackle the problem of our dated, linear approach within the industry, we will soon see yachting become a notorious pollution-generating sport. The traditional linear economy, which has a ‘take, make, dispose’ model of production, needs to change. Circularity is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. Circular systems employ reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling to create a closed-loop system, minimising the use of resources and the creation of waste, pollution, and carbon emissions. The circular economy also aims to keep products, equipment, and infrastructure in use for longer, thus improving the productivity of these resources.
Aside from the 23 million pleasure craft currently in circulation worldwide and the conundrum of where they go to die, the marine industry is at a turning point in the way it approaches design and manufacturing. We need to come together and focus on areas such as environmental impact, design, product life extension and recycling. As an industry reliant on the enjoyment of a healthy marine environment, we are well placed to lead change.
By collaboration we can address systemic changes that are impossible to happen in isolation. Being able to understand the environmental impact of our industry is critical to becoming more socially, ethically, and environmentally responsible, innovating new approaches to manufacturing and design, adapting to future legislation and working towards a more sustainable way of going sailing.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
As sailors, though, how can we ensure we’re doing our bit for the environment? Sailing is actually quite a good example of a thriving second-hand market, passing on boats through generations and fixing up old boats to have a new lease of life, giving great pleasure to multiple owners. The question of what happens when a boat really does reach the end of its life is addressed elsewhere in this issue, so what else can we as boat owners and users do? We want to facilitate a positive shift for the health of our waterways and continue to encourage the momentum within our industry for a more considerate, low-impact and sustainable future.
Education is key. We cannot make informed decisions without being aware of the facts. Understanding the environmental footprint at each stage of a product’s life cycle will allow us to decide how we are going to maintain, repair or replace our equipment. We need to consider what items we need to replace and what credentials, if any, the replacement items have for them to deserve being selected. Then finally, we need to consider what we do with the old products.
We can all consider the five ‘R’s’ to minimise our environmental impact; Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle. Recycling is the final option because, as we have seen from news reports, it often results in items being discarded into landfill or worse still, being off-loaded to another country to become their problem. No matter if we are replacing our batteries after three years of hard work, buying new foulweather gear after five years of wear and tear, or replacing our canvas work, sails and ropes after ten years weathering the storms and the harsh ultraviolet rays from the sun, we need to give consideration to what we really need, why we choose a particular product and how it is made.
When deciding what products you want to replace your old, tired, worn, or broken items with, it’s important to look beneath the surface of a product’s claims to sustainability.
While there is no current universal set of measurements for assessing the impact of products within the marine industry, collating reliable, transparent data for designers, manufacturers and consumers will enable design with sustainability in mind. Marketing claims need to be based on credible data, allowing us to identify businesses and products that are making a conscientious difference. Businesses need to be pushed to be more transparent and socially responsible, and ideally achieve ‘closed-loop’ product design, so that a product’s lifecycle is not ‘cradle to grave’ but ‘cradle to cradle’, much like the automotive industry has achieved. Regulation, or the prospect of it, will make ‘Life Cycle Assessments’ more significant and they will be crucial to meet any corporate sustainability goals.
LIFECYCLE ASSESSMENTS
In collaboration with founding sponsor, 11th Hour Racing, an international organisation that harnesses the power of sport to innovate change for the health of our oceans, Marineshift 360 is developing something called a Life Cycle Assessment Tool. The LCA measures global warming potential (kgco2e), nonrenewable resource depletion, water consumption, marine eutrophication, energy consumption and waste production across every stage of a product’s manufacture and use, giving companies the data they need to reduce their product’s environmental impact.
The industry collaboration features 10 marine businesses to date including Greenboats, Marlow Ropes, Onesails, Allen Brothers, Arksen, Emkay Plastics, Multiplast, Princess Yachts, RS Sailing and Wessex Resins. These partners will continue to work with Marineshift360 to tailor the tool to the unique needs of the marine businesses in a bid to empower the wider industry to make smart choices. The vision is to create a tool built by the industry, for the industry.
Onesails Managing Director, Peter Kay, commented that, ‘As sailors, we, more than most, appreciate the benefits of a clean marine environment, and so it’s particularly troubling that as marine manufacturers, we
are contributing to the pollution of the planet. At Onesails we have already engaged with the problem by developing our novel, recyclable, sail structure 4T FORTE. By participating in the Marineshift360 initiative, we aim to take that further by analysing in detail our entire production process, and in so doing help develop a tool which can be used to guide the industry to a more sustainable future.’
This design concept for sailcloth was on a global race course around the world in the Vendée Globe with UK Skipper Pip Hare onboard Medallia and also with Finnish Skipper Ari Huusela and his boat STARK, as well as the Spirit 44e recently tested by YM.
Emma Donovan, the Marketing Manager at Marlow Ropes says, ‘For the marine industry at large, it has never been more urgent for all businesses and manufacturers to audit and understand their own processes and the impact they have on the very environment that we all rely on so heavily.’
The Green Blue organisation, the RYA and British Marine have a wealth of knowledge regarding sustainable credentials held by marine businesses. They offer a directory of products and services illustrating who is making a change to a more sustainable future within the industry. Armed with this information we become more educated consumers. Anything from fuel efficiency to reducing pollution, cleaning products to water use and energy consumption, the topics are wide and varied and are all covered. As boaters we all have a vested interest in protecting the environment where we spend our leisure time.
As more of us take to the water we risk damaging the natural environment. I encourage you all to consider the environmental issues with your discarded products and when making the timeconsuming choice for the shiny new products. Each small choice and action collectively can make a huge impact.
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