Earth Day 2020: A spotlight on sustainable practices of Clipper Race Partners

In celebration of Earth Day 2020, we are shining a spotlight on Clipper Race Partners who remain committed to implementing sustainable practices throughout their businesses.

Fundamental to the race and integral to the crew, the Clipper Race aims to create a greater link between communities and the ocean, and with partnerships at the forefront, the promotion of solutions that could help create a healthier ocean.

Blue Flag holder, Marina de Portimão and the Five Gold Anchor Coral Sea Marina, Whitsundays aim to educate visitors, employees and marina stakeholders on environmental initiatives, waste management, fishing practices and sustainable boating to spread the sustainability message further.

Host Port and Team Partner Seattle has engaged with local communities to demonstrate the value and ability of small actions to be amplified when completed by many. The Seattle crew took part in the beach clean organised by Yacht Club Punta del Este and in Cape Town invited groups of school children to learn more about the ocean in collaboration with Seattle Aquarium. During the Seattle stopover, the Clipper Connect Business Series event will focus on the importance of ocean health and the role of business to protect it.

The race creates an environment to align with and promote Race Partner’s wider sustainability and social impact objectives. Dell is part of an innovative project known as #nextwave. NextWave member companies are working together to establish a circular economy for plastics that would otherwise be bound for the ocean. Reducing the volume of plastic waste before it enters the ocean they are creating recycled packaging for their products as well as environmental and social benefit through the commoditisation and creation of plastic supply chains.

As Technical Clothing Partner, all Musto merchandise that is produced exclusively for the Clipper Race crew kit package has been delivered without plastic packaging. Part of Musto’s pledge to reduce single use packaging since December 2016, when Musto was challenged to find a more sustainable alternative to the plastic packaging they use to package garments, it has so far saved over 11,000 kg of plastic each year.

Like Musto, Official Lifejacket Supplier Spinlock is reviewing its packaging to ensure its choices can reduce its environmental impact. The British company is the first from the UK’s marine industry to sign up to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment that aims to create a 'new normal’ for plastic packaging. After reviewing many packaging materials Spinlock has made changes to its product header cards so they can be recycled, has stopped using plastic bags for as much packaging as possible and for large trade sales Spinlock offers the products ‘free of packaging’ which massively reduces the use of packaging materials.

On the yachts all the 450 Sta-Lok fittings are made from stainless steel, which is corrosion resistant, durable, and has a high recycled content and recapture rates. Marlow Ropes has provided the fleet of Clipper 70s with its Blue Ocean Dockline; the world’s first mooring line to be made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles. This latest initiative from Marlow Ropes has also seen the polyester Main sheet covers replaced with the Blue Ocean yarn for the 2019-20 edition to test its performance during the circumnavigation. Marlow Ropes has also committed to ensuring that each mooring line will be recycled at the end of its life.