Leading yacht charter company, Sunsail’s commitment to sustainability has been recognised through prestigious awards, including first place in the Exhibitor Environmental Innovation Awards at the Southampton Boat Show. Sunsail was also named as being ‘One to Watch’ at WTM South Africa and were featured in Wanderlust’s Travel Green List for 2024, reflecting the company’s significant strides in responsible travel practices.
At Sunsail, sustainability is not a separate initiative but a core part of its ethos. Every team contributes to the sustainability strategy and the company’s Our Ocean Promise initiative, emphasising the importance of staff and customer engagement in achieving meaningful, lasting change.
Building on two years of dedicated efforts through the Our OCEAN Promise, the company remains committed to making small yet impactful changes that collectively contribute to a more sustainable future.
Since the initiative launched in 2022, Sunsail has been dedicated to embedding sustainability across its operations, with a focus on both environmental and social impacts.
Using electric outboards to reduce fuel consumption
To reduce fossil fuel consumption, Sunsail has expanded the use of electric outboards across the Mediterranean. Following a successful trial in 2022, Sunsail introduced ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus electric outboard motors to its top three locations in 2023. Due to positive customer feedback, these outboards are now available across five Mediterranean bases for Sunsail. With 110 electric outboards in the fleet, this reduces fuel consumption by approximately 1.3 gallons (6 litres) per week per outboard, totalling a reduction of 4,355 gallons (19,800 litres) of fossil fuels annually.
Sunsail is also trialling a larger electric outboard motor in Lefkas, which could support the introduction of electric outboards to catamaran yachts and accommodate more guests. The company remains committed to evaluating new technologies to balance environmental benefits with performance and customer satisfaction.
Cutting down on single-use plastic
In addition to its efforts with electric outboards, Sunsail is advancing its water purification initiatives in its sustainability efforts. All new catamarans in the fleet now feature water purification units using General Ecology’s “Structured Matrix” technology, which eliminates microbiological and chemical contamination without chemicals or electricity. This year, Sunsail retro-fitted these units to new monohulls in its exclusive plus and premier plus categories, meaning a total of around 300 yachts within the Sunsail fleet now have a water purification system onboard. This results in an estimated reduction of 24 tons of single-use plastic annually.
To further reduce the use of single-use plastics at their bases, Sunsail has introduced water refill stations at all locations, encouraging customers to use reusable bottles. This initiative complements Sunsail’s broader sustainability communications, which offer tips on reducing environmental impact and provide opportunities for customers to support The Blue Marine Foundation through optional donations.
Creating sustainable partnerships
The recent Sunsail 50th Anniversary celebrations highlighted the company’s commitment to sustainability with flotillas and sessions featuring partners such as Blue Marine and the Ionian Dolphin Project. This aligns with Sunsail’s new yacht usage policy, which supports staff and local communities by enabling base managers to organise team-building and conservation activities and provide local organisations and charities with charter days for educational or fundraising purposes. This policy has been successfully implemented at bases in the British Virgin Islands and Belize since June.
Educating staff on sustainability
Sunsail has also launched the BVI Skipper Academy, a 16-week training programme designed to upskill local individuals into qualified skippers, fostering stable careers in the yacht charter industry.
The company encourages staff participation in beach and water clean-up activities during annual educational or work trips, as demonstrated by a recent successful clean-up by the senior sales and marketing team in the Bahamas.
Laura Bowtell, Head of Global Sales Operations and Sustainability for Sunsail said “We are proud to celebrate the success of Our OCEAN Promise, which reflects our unwavering commitment to sustainability. By integrating innovative sustainability initiatives and fostering meaningful partnerships, we are making a tangible difference to ensure our oceanic playgrounds remain vibrant and healthy for generations to come.”
About Sunsail
Founded in 1974, Sunsail offers a wide choice of sailing holidays with a fleet of stunning yachts in over 20 worldwide locations. Alongside yacht charter and flotilla sailing holidays, Sunsail also offers sailing schools, skippered holidays, team building and events, regattas and yacht ownership.
Please visit: https://www.sunsail.com/za/
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