UK marine firms to develop new lifecycle assessment tool

With a growing emphasis on sustainability in the marine leisure market, a new tool for lifecycle assessment (LCA) for the recreational and performance yachting sector is planned to be developed by an international collaboration between marine logistics specialist GAC Pindar and UK-based MarineShift360 that works to drive sustainability initiatives.

The two businesses claim this to be the first such tool and it has the objective of helping the marine recreational/performance yachting sector of reducing its use of resources and cut waste, pollution and carbon emissions. The strategic partnership brings together MarineShift360’s expertise in systems driving the shift towards a circular economy and GAC Pindar’s insight and understanding of the recreational marine sector.

The LCA tool will also enable GAC Pindar to identify where real, measurable reductions can be made in fossil fuel consumption and packing materials. As well as developing sustainable transportation solutions for marine equipment that go beyond carbon offsetting, GAC Pindar aspires to ensure best sustainable practices are applied throughout its supply chains.

A combination of consumer demand and expected changes to legislation are driving the marine industry to seek ways to move into closed-loop product design and away from the ‘take-make-waste’ approach.

Jeremy Troughton, GAC Pindar’s general manager, said: “We are excited about working with 11th Hour Racing and Pilot Partners to develop a tool which can be used to guide the industry to a more sustainable future. More and more of our customers are seeking greener logistics solutions and there is much we can do in the short-term, such as consolidating shipments, using greener shipping lines and making smarter routing decisions earlier in the planning process.”

GAC Pindar is helping MarineShift360 develop an LCA tool to help the industry identify and understand how to make environmental and economic savings. It quantifies the environmental effects of a product’s full life cycle, enabling users to make informed decisions at the design stage to mitigate their impact on the environment. Its Founding Sponsor is 11th Hour Racing, an international organisation that harnesses the power of sport to innovate change for the health of our oceans.

GAC Pindar joins 10 other Pilot Partners with which MarineShift360 is working to tailor their tool to the specific needs of marine businesses. They are providing important data related to the complex transportation of equipment all over the world for some of yachting’s biggest events including the Volvo Ocean Race and the latest series in supercharged fast-flying F50 catamarans. Their in-depth understanding of the planning and execution of logistics support for premier sailing events brings valuable additional expertise to the table.