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The (ILCA, Austin, Texas, U.S.), a World Sailing Olympic Class organization that coordinates and oversees the ILCA dinghy activities worldwide, and natural fiber composites company (Bremen, Germany) have announced an ongoing strategic partnership to explore and develop environmentally responsible innovation within ILCA dinghy’s production. This collaboration builds on the long- standing sustainability work of both organizations and reflects a shared objective: to reduce the ILCA dinghy’s environmental footprint while maintaining the fairness, integrity and legacy of ILCA one-design racing.

Sailing is intrinsically connected to nature, yet the industry and equipment rely heavily on petroleum-based composites with significant carbon impacts. Builders, sailors and regulators are increasingly seeking sustainable solutions; yet innovation must preserve the class’s strict one-design principles to protect fairness and performance while leveraging on the power of the long established legacy of the class.

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Together, ILCA and Greenboats are launching a two-track initiative:

• 1. Long-term vision. Develop a low-emission ILCA concept that reimagines dinghy construction for the future.
• 2. Incremental innovation. In the near term, trial sustainable materials on isolated areas of the boat or on smaller components of the equipment with a vision of adopting innovation in a stepped approach.

Greenboats will lead technical research, supply chain and co-manufacture of prototypes, while ILCA will ensure rigorous life cycle assessments, compliance with the relevant authorities and alignment with class governance as well as ILCA-approved builders and suppliers. The key functioning pillars for this partnership are:

Collaboration. ILCA and Greenboats teams will work together to identify, evaluate, engineer and develop solutions and implementation roadmaps for various material replacement initiatives with the ultimate aim to reduce the net emissions of an ILCA dinghy, part by part. This work will expand on what has been researched and documented by masters student Lucca Günther on his Greenboats- and ILCA-supported Masters thesis project delivered earlier in 2025.

Governance alignment. Any proposed innovations will be reviewed to ensure compliance with the ILCA Build Manual and Class Rules and undergo the Class’ Approval Processes engaging with its Builders and World Sailing.

Stakeholder engagement: Builders, sailors, material suppliers and regulators will be included through initiatives, dedicated stakeholder forums and feedback protocols to gather real feedback and ensures innovation is relevant and impactful where it really matters. Both ILCA and Greenboats will keep stakeholders informed via newsletters and appearances at key events.

Collaboration network. Greenboats will leverage its supplier base and 15 years of biocomposites innovation, while ILCA ensures class-wide coordination and transparency.

ILCA members and the global sailing community are invited to follow progress, share feedback and participate in upcoming sustainability webinars. Material suppliers with innovative bio-based solutions are encouraged to contact ILCA or Greenboats for potential collaboration. Initial findings will be presented at upcoming industry events and webinars.