SailGP Publishes Second Season Purpose & Impact Report
Climate positive boat racing series SailGP has released its inaugural Purpose & Impact Report to showcase the environmental and social successes and challenges it has faced in its second season.
The Purpose & Impact Report was supported and verified by SailGP’s long-term strategic sustainability partner, Dr. Susie Tomson, the Director of Sustainability at London-based consultancy thinkBeyond.
The report highlights this year’s the introduction of its Impact League – a second leaderboard which runs alongside the Season Championship and rewards teams for the positive actions they take to reduce their overall carbon footprint and accelerate inclusivity in the sport.
This year also saw the sport’s first 100% clean energy event at the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix in Aarhus, as well as reducing total emissions from temporary power provisions by 56% through SailGP’s partnership with Aggreko, the world-leading provider of mobile modular power.
By leveraging fossil fuel alternatives in both land and sea transport through its partnership with global logistics company Kuehne+Nagel, SailGP reduced emissions on the European leg of the Championship by 90%. The partnership also enabled SailGP to avoid approximately 340 tonnes of CO²e on the shipping from Cádiz to Sydney and onto San Francisco.
SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts, said, “SailGP is designed to be so much more than a sailing league – I believe sport has the unique power to drive positive change which is why we strive to embed sustainability into the heart of our league.
“After just our second season I’m very proud of what we have achieved so far – making significant strides for social and environmental sustainability with the likes of the world-first Impact League.
“We still have a long way to go, but through our reporting structure and processes we aim to keep ourselves accountable and share key learnings to the wider industry about where we need to improve as this, along with collaboration, is the only way progress is possible.”
SailGP Global Director of Purpose and Impact Fiona Morgan, said, “We have a very clear purpose – we race for a better sport and a better planet, and this underpins everything we do. We have set an ambition to be the world’s most sustainable and purpose-driven global sports league and this report is the latest example of our commitment to this and how everyone at SailGP is always pushing themselves to be better in everything we do, and analyzing how we can improve year-on-year.
“It’s great to have delivered our first 100 per cent clean energy event and the reaction to initiatives like the Impact League and Women’s Pathway have been overwhelmingly positive and have driven real business growth. Collaboration is key to delivering our goals and I want to thank all our partners, suppliers and host cities for their support.
“However, we are only at the start of our purpose and impact journey. We believe in the power of using our sport for good and the power of nature to change the world. I am truly excited about the future and hope we can inspire others too.”
The full report is available here.
Image: Shutterstock
