Introducing Water Revolution Foundation’s Yacht Assessment Tool

Water Revolution Foundation has launched a Yacht Assessment Tool which is designed to revolutionise the design and build processes of superyachts by empowering decision-makers with the information needed to make sustainable choices.

The Yacht Assessment Tool was long known under its project name Yachting 4.0 when it was under development by Water Revolution Foundation’s initiator and vice-chair, Dr Vienna Eleuteri, together with the University of Bologna. It is a software tool based on ‘computational sustainability’, an interdisciplinary field that combines techniques from computer science, information science, operations research, applied mathematics, and statistics for balancing environmental, economic, and societal needs for sustainable development. 

Until now, it was not possible to measure the environmental impact of a superyacht, as there was no specific tool to perform this assessment. The Yacht Assessment Tool not only takes into consideration the unique type of vessel a superyacht is, it carries out a full life cycle assessment (LCA) and calculates the environmental impact using the ten most important environmental indicators. 

Aim of the Tool

• To facilitate the superyacht industry with a scientifically-developed assessment tool tailored to the industry.

• To enable the industry to assess a complete superyacht or a sub-part of it.

• To perform a full life cycle assessment of the object.

• To educate the user on the environmental impact of the assessed object.

• To identify where the majority of the impact is coming from.

• To make more informed choices during future projects.

• To define the next steps for continuous product improvements.

• To set internal targets for improvements.

• To develop a supply chain programme.

• To take concrete and real action in reducing the environmental footprint.

• To minimise the superyacht industry’s environmental impact.

• To future-proof the superyacht industry and show its strategic position.

•  To lead the way for other maritime sectors.

How it Works

Now that the Yacht Assessment Tool is ready and launched, superyacht companies can approach Water Revolution Foundation to start a case study. This works as follows:

1. Depending on what object the company would like Water Revolution Foundation to assess, a model inside the tool will be developed in order to measure exactly that.

2. Subsequently, the company will be asked to provide the data as requested in a data collection sheet.

3. This data will be uploaded in the tool for performing the assessment.

4. The outcomes will be given and a report can be downloaded.

5. Water Revolution Foundation will discuss the results with the company and identify steps for improvement.

6. The company can sign up for training in order to work with the tool and model.

7. The company receives login details for a private area inside the tool to work with the model and try different options and test alternative choices to identify ways to improve the environmental impact of their current product.

With such tool you can properly assess alternatives to ensure these are indeed more effective, avoiding ineffective changes or even greenwashing.

Parameters

The Yacht Assessment Tool measures the environmental impact based on the following ten indicators. These are generally considered as the most important indicators for measuring environmental impact.

• Global Warming

• Ozone layer depletion

• Photo chemical oxidation

• Eutrophication

• Acidification

• NOx

• Sox

• PM10

• Water scarcity footprint

• Eco point

Call to Action

While the foundation has already started working on case studies with its partners, who made it possible to develop the tool and deliver it so quickly, the team is enthusiastically inviting other superyacht industry companies to get in touch to develop a case study together. Through working together, we will make real improvements and significantly reduce the environmental footprint of your product and step by step the industry as a whole.

What does it cost?

Since the foundation serves the higher goal of making the entire superyacht industry more sustainable, it does not aim for a return on investment for the development costs for the Yacht Assessment Tool. Yet, cost could apply to cover labour hours needed to develop the model and perform the analysis, depending on the level of depth of your case.

Instead of a transactional relationship, Water Revolution Foundation would of course much rather prefer your support and commitment to the foundation’s mission by becoming partner of the foundation to drive sustainability together. 

For more information, click here.

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