The International Canoe Federation and major partner Starboard SUP have announced details of a multi-year program that will reduce the environmental footprint of major paddling events.
This exciting partnership will see Starboard supporting ICF events from 2021 to 2024, helping all ICF world disciplines to become climate neutral. The SUP world championships will set the benchmark for other events, striving to become 10 times climate positive.
The partnership was launched at the ICF canoe ocean racing world championships in Lanzarote, Spain. The ICF SUP world championships in Hungary in September was the first event which will strive to be 10 times climate positive.
Mangroves are great CO2 absorbers, absorbing 1 tonne of CO2 within the first 20 years of their life. Mangroves also help biodiversity flourish within and surrounding the planted area.
Starboard plant their mangroves with Worldview International Foundation (WIF), based in Myanmar, reforesting an area where mangrove trees once flourished but due to farming or fuel needs, have been in rapid decline.
WIF has created projects that support the local communities to make money through planting and caring for mangroves, while also giving them alternative ways to live without cutting down mangrove trees.
“We are very excited to put into action a plan that will underline our commitment to reducing the impact of our events on the environment,” ICF marketing manager, Catherine Wieser, said.
“Starboard has a strong history in this area, and we are impressed by its commitment to the cause. Together we will work on not just presenting great paddling competitions, but also making the planet healthier.”
More information about how Starboard’s mangrove project helps the environment can be found here.
- Press release announcing the initiative in previous ICF Events
To achieve the goal, Starboard SUP will need to assess the carbon emission from attendees travelling the ICF Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Championships, as well as the electricity emissions during the competition. The carbon footprint will be balanced by planting mangrove trees in Myanmar. Every person who is attending the event will be asked to complete a simple form outlining travel plans.
This will include how many kilometres attendees have travelled overland and which airport they stopped at throughout the whole journey. Please press the link below, to fill out the form