News

Environmental protection

The highly topical subject of sustainability will become one of the guiding principles of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda from this year onward. The two main phases of the Club’s new Sustainability Project were presented this morning.

Phase one will see the YCCS undergo an audit from the SDA Bocconi Sustainability Lab to evaluate current practices and consign a sustainability report. The Club will then have to adopt best practices in terms of environmental protection throughout its various sectors and activities.

Phase two involves the organisation, together with the SDA Bocconi Sustainability Lab as Scientific Partner, of a forum on marine conservancy named One Ocean. The forum will be held over two days at the end of September at the YCCS base in Porto Cervo. Conferences and workshops will address four main themes: global warming, pollution from plastics and microplastics, the marine ecosystem and acidification of our seas.

These round tables will be key to drafting a crucial new document for the Club: the Carta Smeralda, a sort of Magna Carta reassuming a series of eco-sustainability principles that will be signed by the YCCS before spreading the commitment to other yacht clubs, ambassadors and international figures. The One Ocean Forum is intended to promote ongoing cooperation, awareness raising and knowledge sharing and will be held every two years. Participants will include scientific and non-profit organisations, businesses, media, influencers and international figures, with the objective of creating an innovative and collaborative alliance in support of the environment. President of the YCCS Board, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, is a strong supporter of the project and commented during the presentation: “After 50 years of existence the members of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda have decided that it’s time to add our voice to the global conversation on ocean conservancy and protecting the seas of our world. All of us who’ve lived on the sea and around the sea have noticed massive changes in the last 50 years:  increases in pollution and plastics everywhere, flora and fauna being affected by a degrading marine habitat. We have to do something now to allow our children to inherit seas and oceans that in any way resemble those that we knew as children.”

This new project underlines the YCCS commitment to social responsibility and has the objective of opening and sustaining a dialogue on an international level. The One Ocean Forum will facilitate the exchange of information and the creation of networks, raising awareness and promoting a culture of environmental protection that goes beyond the confines of each individual country, while the Carta Smeralda represents concrete actions towards environmental protection.

For further information visit the website www.oneoceanforum.org

Contacts

YCCS Press Office
Marialisa Panu/Giuliano Luzzatto
Tel +39 0789 902200
Email pressoffice@yccs.it
www.yccs.com

Communication and Sponsorship Director

Alessia Crivelli

alessiacrivelli@yccs.it