SUSTAINABILITY IN BOATING
Marine Business Unit . “ There ’ s still much to be done , and we remain steadfast in our efforts toward carbon neutrality , conservation and sustainability , all of which remain at the heart of every Yamaha Rightwaters initiative .”
Earlier this year , Groupe Beneteau announced a ramp up of its focus on sustainability on the purchasing side of its CSR ( Corporate Social Responsibility ) program , B-Sustainable by inviting its suppliers to register on the EcoVadis CSR rating platform . Groupe Beneteau set a target to have 50 % of its supplier to be covered by the assessment approach by the end of 2025 .
A Suzuki-powered SeaPro runs on EcoGen fuel on its journey from Florida to Washington D . C .
Volunteers with Yamaha Rightwaters show off a days work collecting trash in area waterways .
Within the program , Groupe Beneteau will assess the CSR performance of its suppliers . This assessment covers 21 sustainability criteria that are grouped into four themes : Environment , Labor & Human Rights , Ethics and Sustainable Procurement . The criteria are weighted depending on the size , business sector and geography of the company being assessed .
“ This initiative represents a major step forward with our commitment to incorporating sustainability criteria across our entire supply chain ”, explains Delphine Planes , Groupe Beneteau VP Purchasing . “ We are proud to work with suppliers
who share our commitment . We are convinced that this initiative will help further strengthen our supply chain and maintain the confidence and trust of our customers and partners .”
And while major goals like total carbon neutrality are huge for not only the industry , but the environment all around , it doesn ’ t happen overnight , nor with one swift action .
“ People that are new to thinking about operating sustainably , often think about it as an overwhelming task , but there is so much that can be tackled in a ‘ small step ’ way ,” Koenig said . “ Just start small , take a broad look at your operation , pick one area in sustainability and drive your focus into that . Once that is rolling , move onto the next small step .”
Koenig explained that Brunswick ’ s philosophy is that sustainability is an integrated part of the business , rather than a separate function . And by enabling sustainable functions across all of the teams across Brunswick , it leads to an overall sustainable operation company wide .
“ A lot of people want to think so big , but it ’ s the little things you do that will make the biggest impact overall ,” NMMA ’ s Wasil added . “ Don ’ t focus on trying to change something so massively overnight . Look at your production process and find ways to minimize small things like cardboard and plastic use or other things along those lines and look for solutions . If we all do those things together as an industry , it will make a huge impact .”
Moving beyond electric
While the push to explore electric power sources has been a high focus across not just the recreational marine industry , but many around it , the marine industry is exploring a variety of other sustainable sources to better boating ’ s environmental impact .
But before we dive into those new efforts across the industry , it ’ s important to set the stage for boating ’ s current impact .
At this point in time , recreational marine accounts for 0.7 % of all transportation CO2 emissions . And in addition to that , boating accounts for just ½ of 1 % of gasoline use in the United States .
“ Just because our impact numbers are small as an industry and recreation activity , we still need to do our part and work toward sustainable solutions ,” NMMA ’ s Wasil told Boating Industry .
Another important note is that there are roughly 12 million registered powerboats in the U . S . right now . And compared to the automotive lifespan , boats have a very long , useful life , with
22 august 2023 www . boatingindustry . com