World Sailing starts life-cycle assessment of Olympic sailing equipment

Sailing is seen as a clean sport, but Olympic equipment carries environmental impact, World Sailing director says

• World Sailing, the international governing body for sailing, has launched a first-of-its-kind life-cycle assessment to measure the environmental impact of Olympic-class sailing equipment from manufacturing to disposal.
• Alexandra Rickham, World Sailing’s director of sustainability, said the project will provide the evidence needed to make smarter choices and shape the future of Olympic equipment.
• Sailing is widely perceived as a clean, wind-powered sport, but its Olympic-class equipment carries an environmental impact from industrial manufacturing, Rickham said.
• Competitive sailing has been an Olympic sport since 1900; in the 2024 Games, crews sailed boats with hulls as long as 17 feet (5 meters) in the Bay of Marseille.

World Sailing, the global governing body for the sport, has launched a life-cycle assessment of Olympic-class sailing equipment to gauge the environmental toll from manufacturing through disposal. The first-of-its-kind study is intended to provide the evidence the organization needs to make smarter choices about equipment for future Olympic Games, according to Alexandra Rickham, the group’s sustainability director.

The project systematically measures the environmental footprint of Olympic sailing gear across its full life cycle — from production to disposal — for the first time, highlighting a contrast between the sport’s wind-powered image and the industrial impact of its equipment.

Alexandra Rickham told the Associated Press that the assessment will supply the evidence World Sailing needs to make more informed decisions about equipment for future Games and beyond. “Sailing naturally has a close relationship with nature, with the environment. It’s seen very much as this clean, green sport using the wind,” Rickham said. “But the reality is that our equipment has an impact. It goes through some major industrial processes.”

Rickham said the findings could have applications outside the Olympic arena. “This project could be useful not just for Olympic sailing but for the broader sailing community and potentially other sports,” she said.

Competitive sailing has been part of the Olympic program since the 1900 Games. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, one- and two-person crews raced boats with hulls measuring up to 17 feet (5 meters) around a course in the Bay of Marseille. World Sailing has indicated that environmental sustainability will play a larger role in how those boats are designed and built in future editions.