'A race for the future': SailGP embeds new sustainability league into global sailing competition

International sailing competition SailGP has announced plans to score competitors on their sustainability performance as well as their sailing prowess, in a bid to establish a new "sustainable-normal" that embeds climate action into professional sport.

A new Impact League is set to run alongside the main sailing championship, with the eight international teams taking part in the competition scored across 10 key sustainability criteria, ranging from adoption of clean energy technologies and the elimination of single-use plastic, to diversity and inclusion and social advocacy, according to SailGP.

When the competition draws to a close next March, a prize-giving ceremony will then be held in San Francisco where the overall race champions will be crowned, it explained. The team that has topped the sustainability leader board will also be announced and handed funding for its "purpose partner" organisation, which has supported and advised the team throughout the season.

The second season of the international sailing competition is already underway, with eight international teams set to face off in nine races hosted by coastal cities around the world.

Ben Ainslie, CEO and driver of Great Britain's SailGP team, hailed the launch of the Impact League as a "significant moment, not just for sailing but for sport". The Olympic gold medal winner urged other sports to follow in SailGP's footsteps and make sustainability a "fundamental part of the fabric of the sport".

"The Impact League has the ability to go across all the range of sports for impact globally, which is what we need to see," Ainslie told BusinessGreen via email. "Frankly, other sports need to adopt a similar approach. We need to see that level of change across all sports, and across society if we're going to meet the targets that we need to get on top of this global issue."

Ainslie also said it was "critical" for sportspeople around the world to set an example. "We all know sports have a huge following around the world - sports stars are great role models and ambassadors for young people and future generations, and they are ultimately going to be responsible for taking on the challenge of climate change and for future generations," he said.

SailGP noted that many of the competition's host venues, such as Plymouth, Saint Tropez, and Sydney, are expected to experience sea level rise of at least 0.5 metres by mid-century due to global temperature increases, a phenomenon that is set to affect more than 570 low-lying coastal cities, putting hundreds of millions of people at risk and threatening the future of many professional sports.

"There will be no sport without a planet to play it on," the sports body said in a statement. "Climate impacts could fundamentally change sports locations and how they are played making sport impossible in several locations."

The Impact League has already been running over the first two SailGP events of the year, which took place in Bermuda and Italy, and New Zealand's team is currently leading the scoreboard, SailGP said.

Niclas Svenningsen, manager of Global Climate Action at UNFCCC, urged other sports to establish impact leagues of their own. "Many of the activities that bring us so much joy in our day-to-day lives are under threat from our changing climate," he said. "Sport is no exception, in-fact it is one of the areas set to be worst affected. The Impact League is an innovative and inspiring solution-orientated approach from SailGP to deliver meaningful change and re-define what winning means in sport."