Special Environmental Report – The VOR Newport Stopover: A Green Model to Emulate

clean regatta photoThe day before the Volvo Ocean Race fleet restarted the competition with its in-port racing, Newport stopover organizers scored a win of their own when they were awarded Platinum Level certification as a Clean Regatta from Newport-based conservation organization Sailors for the Sea.

That distinction didn’t happen by chance. Brad Read and Sail Newport had a plan from the very beginning to design the Newport stopover as a green event that would minimize its environmental impact and educate sailors, attendees, and other race hosts on sustainability best practices. Based on a third-party audit, the plan to make Newport the most environmentally responsible port succeeded.

“So many people at the event commented on how much they learned about issues like composting and recycling, and about how little trash they found at the event … It was an eye-opening experience that showed many people how on-water events should look,” said Tyson Bottenus, sustainability director for Sailors for the Sea.

A Well-Laid Plan

Sail Newport showed great leadership in how they designed the stopover. They put together a Sustainability Committee of smart, committed individuals from organizations such as 11th Hour Racing, R.I. Department of Environment Management, Bike Newport, Clean Ocean Access, Newport Energy and Environmental Commission, Sailors for the Sea and SCA. Together these individuals devised a plan focused on four environmental themes: Climate & Energy, Resource Efficiency, Marine Environment and Education & Outreach.

The steps organizers took to realize their vision included things as simple as encouraging attendees to bring a personal water bottle for filling at water stations, banning plastic straws from the event, using plates and utensils that were compostable, and encouraging alternative transport with Bike Newport to reducing the event’s carbon footprint by using biodiesel fuel provided by the National Biodiesel Board in partnership with Newport Biodiesel in the Volvo Ocean 65 race boats and shoreside generators in the Race Village. Event organizers also created a large volunteer “Green Team” and enlisted the assistance of MTG Disposal to separate and divert as much recyclable and compostable material as possible from the landfill.

There was a strong educational element, with excellent displays in the Exploration Zone, an Ocean Summit that showcased the experiences of sailors with presentations by leading experts in ocean conservation, good signage, and volunteers who were trained to educate attendees.

You can read more about the event’s sustainability at the VOR Newport website and download the complete Sustainability Plan here.

A Lead to Follow

As an industry, let’s take a page out of the VOR Newport book when running on-water events. The experts have already shown us all how to run a green on-water event, but there is a lot more guidance out there—whether you are running a small rendezvous, an open house on your docks, a regatta, or any other type of on-the-water happening.

Sailors for the Sea is an excellent resource. You can visit their Clean Regattas page to get the guidance you’ll need to run any on-water event; start by taking a look at their Clean Regattas Best Practices Checklist.

And if you are not running an event, you can encourage all your employees to join the Sailors for the Sea NT3 Pledge, which stands for No Trash, No Trail, No Trace.

This campaign is focused on Ocean Acidification. Every year, one third of carbon dioxide emissions—created by producing plastic, petroleum-based chemicals, and burning fossil fuels—are absorbed by the ocean. As a result, we are changing the ocean’s chemistry in perilous ways.

Now that Sail Newport and their sustainability team have given us all an excellent example of how it should be done, let’s follow their lead and set a new bar in Rhode Island when running our on-the-water events.