IMOCA takes step to limit harmful emissions in sail production with introduction of RISE platform
by IMOCA Globe Series 30 Sep 18:31 BST
RISE (Reduced Impact Sail Evaluation) will formalise and enhance the Green Sail scoring system created by IMOCA © IMOCA class
The IMOCA Class is the first in offshore racing to reduce harmful emissions during sail production. Last year the Class established its successful Green Sail rule that focused on reducing emissions in three areas of sail manufacturing - energy, waste and transportation.
Now a more rigorous system is being put in place, with the implementation of the world's first certifiable impact reduction system for sail manufacturing.
The system, named RISE (Reduced Impact Sail Evaluation), is currently in its final test phase and will be launched in January 2025. It will formalise and enhance the Green Sail scoring system created by IMOCA, their founding sailmakers and MarineShift360.
11th Hour Racing supports IMOCA to further embed sustainability in the DNA of the class — now seen as a leader in the sport — inspired by its skippers' strong sustainability values.
Imogen Dinham-Price, Co-Manager for Sustainability and Partnerships at IMOCA, who has been leading the Green Sail programme, says RISE was the obvious next step in the implementation of the Green Sail initiative.
"The Green Sail Rule was great but there was a lot of rigour missing," she explained. "We wanted to make it more formal, for both IMOCA and the sailmakers, so that they have a system that is reliable and they can have more confidence in it and in what each of them are doing to comply with it."
Dinham-Price says RISE will help entrench the Rule in sail production for IMOCA teams and iron out any disputes or doubts that sailmakers may have in a highly competitive industry. "They need to be confident that it is fair and they need confidence that when they put forward their data around energy, transport and waste, that they are putting forward the right data, the correct data...so it needs to be more thorough and with more trust embedded in it," she added.
The Rule, which was introduced in January 2023, requires IMOCA teams to incorporate one sail in their inventory that has been manufactured by sailmakers using a points-based scoring system, designed to minimise harmful emissions, and all five of the main sailmakers working with the Class have signed up to it.
It rewards sailmakers for minimising the use of non-renewable energy in the production of "Green" sails, reducing air transport for raw material acquisition and manufacturing, and cutting down waste generated during the sail-making process.
Ollie Taylor, project director at MarineShift360, says the RISE platform and its certification system, which rates sails based on their environmental impact, is a move in the right direction. "The RISE certification is a very promising step in the right direction of positively encouraging manufacturers and consumers to reduce their environmental impact," he said. "The scheme is not just a 'sticker' on a sail, but a robust method for calculating the life cycle impact of high performance racing sails."
Dinham-Price is optimistic that the Green Sail initiative will evolve over the next year, and she believes that in the long run, its principles hold potential for the future of offshore sailing. "The idea is that IMOCA is the guinea pig in this and that RISE will be used for all sails afterwards," she said. "We are developing this just for IMOCA, but the intention is that World Sailing (the sport's governing body) will take this method on and then it can be used in all the other classes. And it will be really easy for sailmakers to grade their sails because they will have already gone through this," she added.
RISE is currently being trialled prior to formally being launched in January. Its introduction has been welcomed by sailmakers, among them Lara Poljšak, Director of Sustainability at Quantum Sails. "I think RISE is a great representation of what we ultimately want to achieve in sailmaking," she said. "While big sustainable changes in sail production for the highly competitive sailing classes are not always possible, there are always other (sometimes smaller) ways to reduce the impact of our sails on the environment.
She added: "We are hoping that the Reduced Impact Sail Evaluation will rise in the sailing industry and spread to other classes. At Quantum Sails we are proud to be involved in this project and are looking forward to seeing the impact of RISE in the IMOCA Class and the sustainable innovation in sailmaking that will undoubtedly come with it."
At OneSails, Chief Executive Officer Dede De Luca described RISE as a "pioneering project" pointing to a "new way" in the future of sailing. "At Onesails we have been collaborating on this programme since the beginning, and we'll keep pushing the implementation and the consolidation of a project that is just at the first stage. We really hope it will become good enough to be a benchmark among the sailing classes," he said.
Matthieu Souben, Managing Partner, All Purpose Sails
"There is a really interesting and positive point, which is that the Class manages to get entities that are competitors in their day-to-day lives to work together. This is great, and I think the collective work is quite interesting and open. Everyone keeps a fairly objective view, while of course defending their own interests, but all of us, all the sailmakers, have the desire to move things forward in line with IMOCA. It's a collective effort that is really interesting and ultimately a co-construction.
"We are really happy with this dynamic because it's a dynamic we started within the sailmaking company several years ago, and it's what allowed us to move in this direction. It's part of our DNA today. We need coherence between our personal lives and what we do professionally. So, in the end, we are also using the IMOCA Class as a springboard to help us progress faster, but the objective was already set for us, and it's really an accelerator for us.
"Today, I believe we are always willing to be a little ahead of regulatory constraints. So that won't change. We hope that the rule and RISE will be as stringent as possible, actually. We want to be pushed by our partners, like the IMOCA Class, like the skippers, like the suppliers, so that in the end, the impact of everything we do is reduced as much as possible, allowing us to be here, and be happy to be here, for years to come."
Pierre-Antoine Morvan, Offshore Racing Manager, Incidence Sails
"There is a philosophical aspect where sailing represents a relatively clean sport compared to others, so we want to continue with that philosophy. And then, to be completely honest, there is the constraint of the rating system, but it suits us just fine. However, the issue is complicated because we need to stay competitive. We're competing with other sailboats, so as long as something isn't required by a rule, we don't naturally do it.
"We don't all face the same challenges, so each party tries to pull things in their own direction. Of course, every sailmaker does this, but that's where the Class plays its role in ultimately resolving the disagreements. After that, it becomes a rule, and we all have to comply.
"Version 1 wasn't yet satisfactory because the rule didn't address the carbon impact of the sail itself. We're really happy with version 2 because now RISE will provide a real carbon footprint assessment of the sails. We need to use the tool provided to us by the rules to see if we'll be forced to comply or not. As a matter of fact, part of our production is constrained by the IMOCA rule. So we adapt our production accordingly. We're too small to have one line for IMOCA and another for the rest of the world, so all of our production changes as a result."
Harri Wren, Sustainability Manager, Doyle Sails
"Doyle Sails is proud to have been accredited under IMOCA's initial Green Sail Rule. Our sail not only met the original criteria but significantly exceeded the thresholds. As the industry evolves with new technologies and heightened environmental awareness, we're excited to contribute to the second phase with the introduction of RISE. We're committed to continually assessing and refining our processes to minimize our impact across our entire global production process."
Madalina Preda, Chief Sustainability Officer, North Technology Group
"Two years ago North Sails started their life cycle assessments journey, so our sailmakers, designers, engineers and manufacturing leads can better understand the environmental impact of our products. The RISE framework has helped expand and further define this process in a collaborative way and we're proud to work with other sailmakers and environmental experts like the MarineShift360 team to showcase what responsible innovation can look like in our sport."