SAIL GP x PARLEY
Parley and the Australian SailGP Team join forces to promote the AIR Strategy at sea, on land and in everyday life
In 2021, Parley teamed up with the Australian SailGP Team to take the fight against marine plastic pollution and other ocean threats to a global audience through zero-emission racing, team actions and in-person events around the world. Over the course of the partnership so far, Parley and the crew – headed by Tom Slingsby – have set out to create changes ranging from the removal of single-use plastics to the use of clean energy. It’s all part of the team and league’s commitment to making SailGP a truly game-changing new global sport through zero-emission sailing and initiatives that see teams #RaceForTheFuture.
As part of the league’s Purpose Agenda each SailGP team has identified their purpose beyond sailing and committed to goals they want to achieve. For the sailors of the Australia SailGP Team, that was a genuine desire to create a better future for the oceans, with their love of the water driving their efforts to preserve marine ecosystems for generations to come. “Our team is passionate about leaving a positive impact that extends beyond sailing to protecting the Australian way of life,” explains Tom Slingsby. “With the ocean integral to our sport, we have a responsibility to give back to the surroundings that make our sport possible.”
“We have an opportunity to use our platform to not only educate and inspire a generation of environmental advocates, but also to work with an incredible world-renowned partner in Parley that can help put our vision of a greener future into action.”
TOM SLINGSBY, AUSTRALIA TEAM CEO & DRIVER
At the team’s home race in Sydney in February 2021, Parley and the Australian SailGP Team co-hosted a Parley Ocean School at Woollahra Sailing Club with forty youth sailors and Australia SailGP Team athletes, Kyle Langford, Nina Curtis, Jason Waterhouse and Sam Newton.
The program included a talk by ocean photographer and head of Parley Australia Christian Miller, a microplastics exploration session along the coastline, a Parley AIR Talk given by Olympic medalist Lisa Darmanin and a workshop led by Precious Plastic Melbourne – transforming intercepted plastic into carabiners to be used by the youth sailors. The Australia team also hosted a panel sharing how they personally, and as a team, are making changes to reduce their impact on the planet and the important role sport has in driving awareness.
“SailGP has lived up to its promise of taking big, bold steps towards championing a world powered by nature,” says Parley founder Cyrill Gutsch. “We’re excited to see what they have in store next following some hefty commitments like their initial goal of winning the race to zero carbon, to powering and shifting from technologies based on fossil fuels to 100 per cent renewable power by 2025. We see them as not just a supporter of Parley, but a true collaborator and change maker.”
By 2050, over 570 low-lying coastal cities, including SailGP host venues such as Plymouth, Saint-Tropez, and Sydney, will face projected sea level rises of at least 0.5 meters, putting more than 800 million people at risk from the impacts of rising seas, extreme weather and storm surges. At the end of the 9-event season – which culminates in San Francisco in March 2022 – the eight international teams will be rewarded for the positive actions they make to reduce their overall carbon footprint and help accelerate inclusivity in sailing. Parley is supporting and advising the team on the Impact League, helping them to maximise their efforts, ensuring genuine systematic change with its approach led by collaboration and eco-innovation, and through the Parley AIR Strategy: Avoid, Intercept, Redesign.
Our partnership was recently strengthened with the addition of our collaborator WLTH – the leading Australian digital lending and payments provider. For each of the five fleet races at every SailGP event, WLTH will fund and participate with Parley for the Oceans to conduct 500m2 of beach and coastline cleaning if Australia secures first place.They will then conduct 300m2 if the team places second, 200m2 if third or 100m2 for finishing in any other position. For the final race at each event, Parley for the Oceans will conduct a whopping 1500m2 of beach and ocean cleaning if Australia comes out on top.
”Through this partnership,” adds Cyrill, “we’re excited to bring some of the biggest threats facing our oceans to a global audience while also demonstrating the role we can play in being a part of the solution. Sport really does have the power to make a change and through the power of community, education and activism and with partners such as SailGP, we can turn the ocean cause into a truly global movement.”
All images courtesy of SailGP