The superyacht industry has an image problem.
Perceived by many as a symbol of unbridled excess, arguments around job creation and trickledown economics simply don’t hold water while the planet is in meltdown.
Global warming is now universally regarded as a crisis and as the world aggressively seeks solutions, the yachting industry appears to be lagging behind. Though insiders might disagree, the fact is that any signs of real progress remain invisible to the observer and consequently, the industry is now facing those consequences head-on, whether it likes it or not.
Public opinion of yachting is at an all-time low, and over the past 12 months we’ve seen a significant rise in the number of environmental protests in superyacht marinas and at industry events. At the same time, the rules around access to finance are rapidly changing with lenders and insurers increasingly having to take into account an entity’s environmental credentials.
It's no wonder then that the industry is beginning to worry that the next generation might turn its nose up at superyacht ownership, putting its very existence in peril.
But all hope is not lost. A number of industry initiatives are driving change from within, most recently in the shape of Blue ESG.
What is Blue ESG?
Blue ESG is a ground-breaking new company offering an ESG reporting tool that, for the first time, offers a yachting-specific ESG framework. The company was founded by industry veteran Captain Nigel Marrison, after he became disillusioned with the blind eye that the yachting industry seemed to have turned to the environmental catastrophe unfolding around it. He decided that something had to be done.
The term ESG is an acronym for Environmental, Social, and Governance, which refers to a set of non-financial factors that investors and other stakeholders use to evaluate a company's environmental sustainability and societal impact.