New solutions to lower-impacting composites

The International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) is the governing body of the IMOCA class. Its main task is to design the class regulations for the ocean racing yachts IMOCA 60 and organising single-handed regattas. It was established in 1991. IMOCA has been a member of World Sailing (governing body of international sailing sport) since 1999.

Changing the game - since the birth of IMOCA in 1991, the Class has relentlessly pushed the boundaries of technology in pursuit of performance, making it the birthplace for countless ingenious innovations. One pioneering breakthrough that has stood the test of time and transformed our sport and beyond, would have to be the introduction of carbon fibre composites - a light, strong and a huge leap forward in terms of safety, it has heavily influenced IMOCA yacht design, accounting for nearly 100% of the boat structure. 

In 2021 the Class introduced its first Alternative Materials Rule whereby the teams can experiment with alternative materials on removable part of their yachts. These include hatch covers, navigation seats and chart.

For the past three years, IMOCA teams have tried new alternatives for boat components like flax, hemp, recycled carbon, bio- resins, thermoplastics and various core elements such as balsa wood, recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and cork. These alternatives were not to replace the structural carbon epoxy parts but to experiment with new mechanical properties and lower environmental impacts on removable and non-structural parts.

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

• Over 500kg of alternative material parts have been produced.
• Groupe APICIL has developed the first natural fibre composite navigation seat for their IMOCA using flax fibres and bioresin. The seat will be used by Damien Seguin during the Vendée Globe 2024.
• The first hands-on Alternative Material workshop took place in September 2024 for all IMOCA teams.

TEAMS TRAINING

To further develop and improve knowledge surrounding alternative materials, the IMOCA Class organised, in collaboration with Innozh Composite, a training session over two half-days.

This session was dedicated to the implementation of these materials, including both practical and theoretical aspects. The training was led and supervised by Delphin PANTALONI, an expert in this field.

The session conveyed both practical and scientific knowledge to clarify misunderstandings and biases, as well as discuss the advantages and limitations of using these materials.

LEARN MORE
The Alternative Material Guide can be found HERE

This was published in October 2024 and contains a full briefing on all aspects of the use of new materials, including the successes and difficulties that teams and IMOCA have faced in this key area.

The United Nations recognises sport as being a “key enabler of sustainable development” and, through sustainable global events, sports organisations can deliver on several objectives that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Since the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) became a signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework (S4CA) in 2020, it has been systematically integrating sustainability throughout its organisation and events.

As an Olympic International Federation, the Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) is following the UN and the IOC’s leadership in recognising sport as an important enabler of sustainable development and peace.

As part of its Corporate Responsibility and good governance, FIH has released a new Sustainability Strategy in 2022, with the aim of encouraging the global hockey community to contribute positively to the FIH’s development goals.

The general concerns around climate change and the desire to take responsibility have sparked stronger development of sustainability initiatives within floorball, and resulted in the International Floorball Federation (IFF) signing the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework (S4CA) in 2019. That same year, the IFF started preparing its Strategy for 2021-2032 – “Strengthening the Foundations” – which includes sustainability as one of the main focus areas.

The International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) is the governing body of the IMOCA class. Its main task is to design the class regulations for the ocean racing yachts IMOCA 60 and organising single-handed regattas. It was established in 1991. IMOCA has been a member of World Sailing (governing body of international sailing sport) since 1999.

IMOCA, MarineShift360 and five of the world leading sailmakers (All Purpose, Incidence Sails, North Sails, One Sails & Quantum Sails) have developed the world’s first sail impact evaluation scheme, to assess and address the kgCO2e impact of all sails and grade them. In all, inspiring the sailmaking industry to innovate their technology around impact reduction. This is RISE (Reduced Impact Sail Evaluation).

In 2021, IMOCA learnt that for every 1kg of finished sail there was 6kg of waste produced. It was from here that IMOCA took voluntary action in beginning to reduce this impact 

IMOCA called all their major sailmakers (All Purpose, Incidence Sails, North Sails, One Sails, Quantum Sails and most recently Doyle Sails) to action. We analysed a J2 sail from each sailmaker to draw up comparisons via Life Cycle Assessment - this allowed us to see that the three major hotspots in sailmaking were: waste, energy and transport. 

In January 2023, IMOCA introduced the first ever Green Sail rule in world sailing. This required every team to include at least one sail in their inventory that had been manufactured under agreed environmental limits. The intention was to clean up these first three sections before tackling the fundamental technology and materials within sail production.

In the first year, overall carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 30% per kilo of finished sail, waste was reduced by a third per kilo of finished sail and, all air travel was prohibited for Green Sails from sourcing to arrival at the client.

Since the rule came in, over 80, Green Sails have been produced for IMOCA teams.

RISE - THE FUTURE

• The future for RISE is that it does not remain only a solution for IMOCA, but for the wider sailing community, for all sails and sail manufacturers.
  
• The ambition is to minimise the carbon dioxide impact of sail manufacturing, and to include other indicators like biodiversity loss or damage to marine ecosystems.

The International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) is the governing body of the IMOCA class. Its main task is to design the class regulations for the ocean racing yachts IMOCA 60 and organising single-handed regattas. It was established in 1991. IMOCA has been a member of World Sailing (governing body of international sailing sport) since 1999.

Transforming the industry takes time. It also needs a well adapted governance strategy to implement the change and drive it. The IMOCA Class is well positioned to drive change through the industry by adapting its rules with sustainable measures. The Class has boasted the largest comparative life cycle assessment study in sailing over the last three years, leading to an ambitious 60tCO2e reduction scheme on all new IMOCA. The innovative Eco-Score tool developed by IMOCA and the nautical industry is the key device to coordinate, drive and assure the change. 

An IMOCA construction produces over 400tCO2e* when constructed, yet our sector** has no reglementation pushing us to decrease our impact. 

We therefore decided to put in place our own voluntary limits, which enabled us to regroup a whole industry around this ambition. 

To proceed with this, we started in 2021 conducting a three year long comparative study of life cycle assessments (LCA) on 12 IMOCA constructions (the largest single study ever done on offshore racing yachts). This study included over 50 stakeholders, over 100 parts analysed and in seven countries. From here, the interpretation work began in 2023 to unveil the emission hotspots of the IMOCA yachts. 

We identified that an IMOCA build had three major impact hotspots:

• Moulds (44% of the overall impact)
• Platform (32% of the overall impact)
• Foils (13% of the overall impact).

By delving further into the studies, it was the materials - essentially carbon fibre - that heightened the CO2e emissions. 

2023 was a significant turning point for the studies, as the hotspots were identified and the specific stakeholders were outlined to work on the reduction roadmap. This led to the creation of the first impact reduction Eco-Score tool for IMOCA, offshore racing, sailing and sport as a whole. 

THE IMPACT REDUCTION RULE

The first version of the Impact Reduction Rule was introduced in April 2024. It stipulates that, using the Eco-Score reduction tool, all new IMOCA boat builds from 2025-2028 must meet a minimum impact reduction of 60 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the other associated Greenhouse gases.

In the future?

The aim is for the Impact Reduction Rule to stay in place and to be made tougher at the start of each four-year cycle. So, in 2028, the Rule will call for a further impact reduction of 60 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide in the boat construction process based on the 2024 baseline.

*IMOCA study framework - hull, deck, mast, boom, foils, keel bulb, keel fin, rudders, moulds
**Our sector is situated between the nautical and the sporting industry. Our IMOCA Class works with over 200 stakeholders to ensure the running of the IMOCA championship including races, boat builds, teams and more. 

The Czech Olympic Committee (COC) has released its
new Sustainability Strategy as one of the outcomes of its
participation as a mentee in the As Sustainable As Possible
(ASAP) project. The Strategy was inspired by the IOC’s
sustainability guidelines and best practices from the mentor
NOCs: Germany, Finland and Denmark.

The forward-looking Carbon Fibre Circular Demonstration Project (Carbon Fibre Project) is a multi-sport collaboration that aims to work with sports equipment manufacturers and users on how to recover, transform and reuse carbon fibre from sporting goods components.
It is coordinated and managed by the World Sailing Trust (The Trust), the charitable organisation affiliated to World Sailing.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) became a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework in 2020, committing to reducing its emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2040.
In 2021, as it embarked on its sustainability journey, the AOC started its “Stage One – Establish a Baseline” project to help build its carbon baseline report and organisational readiness to move towards a more comprehensive climate strategy. On the one hand, it measured its 2019 baseline emissions and its 2020 emissions performance, identifying key opportunities for improvement.

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World Athletics’ vision is to use the power and accessibility of athletics and its athletes to create a healthier and fitter world.
This sustainability vision is guided by the Athletics for a Better World (ABW) programme, which harnesses the commitment and energy of the worldwide athletics family to inspire lasting change across all segments of the sport and the society that embraces it. Propelled by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and united under a common brand, the ABW platform promotes all World Athletics projects that seek to use athletics as a tool for social, economic and environmental good.

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