If you have started smelling the coffee you will be aware by now, that there is pressure on yachts to become greener. No one is suggesting that yachts will become green as they are, by their very existence, un-green. Yachts are to the maritime industry what cosmetic surgery is to Medicine: Not exactly needed, but enjoyable for some and nice to look at for many others. There were more similes possible there, about filler and fairing but let’s leave it for now.
Whining about whether the Earth’s warming process is due to the catalyst effect of Man and the industrialization of mankind or a natural cyclical event is pointless. Yachts pollute the sea and their pollution can be minimized through an active policy of stewardship towards the sea. That is fact. As many point out we as an industry are hardly going to change the rate at which the polar icecaps are melting or reduce the plastic islands of garbage floating in the ocean. To do those things will take time and the commitment of the global leadership, but, as yachts are indulgences and tend to some degree to be the visions of the rich and powerful, their attitude in this respect is significant.
What is particularly important is that the owners seem to want yachts to be greener and we work for them. Many efforts are afoot in the different sectors of yachting to improve our track record and as I have said, even yacht crew will receive pressure to make more of an effort. But just how do we measure the results or benefits of our efforts? Simply talking about reducing carbon usage is exhausting.
I propose there is an index made for each and every yacht in that gives them a value for their carbon keel print. This figure can be based on a number of parameters and these figures could be debated by the symposiums and forums that populate the periphery of many boat shows and trade gatherings. They need not be imposed or ascribed by legislation. The car market has made significant reductions in carbon usage partly as a result of manufacturers being forced to publish their fuel consumption figures in accordance with mandated criteria. It was deemed the right of the consumer to know what was going on under the bonnet or hood depending on where you live, in order that the consumer was able to make the choice to be more or less of a polluter.
Importantly, the value assigned a yacht should be universally comparable in accordance with the agreed formula and not be relative value. The concept of Human Rights has been subjected to the universalist/relativist dichotomy and this reasoning could be justified by different boat builders or flag states in order to avoid comparing different types of yachts in a like for like way. But, to my mind that is the way it must be. We simply must have a recognized benchmark in order to separate those that are all talk from those that are all torque.
The calculation and assignment of the formulae must also be based on upon readily available factual information. The formula must also be simple enough for a basic survey to report and calculate. Obviously Horsepower, or Kilo wattage and engine capacity (and number) would be a significant part of the equation.
By having an established value in place many incentives or penalties could be applied fairly and equitably. This could lead to a number of opportunities like carbon offsetting or cap and trade systems to be introduced in an equally fair way. So, the system might not only provide impartial information about the carbon usage of yachts but it could spawn a business model devoted to improving it. Of course it could also allow accurate taxation to be applied if it comes our way and if it does it is surely better to be based on a transparent figure available to all. The idea is that whether you have a 16′ boat with 50 HP outboard or 250′ yacht the number is comparable.
There must also be a value ascribed for a ‘reduction coefficient’ which would be based on efficiency measures or technologies applied to the vessel and here is where something like RINA’s star rating system could be utilized to reduce the overall value.