One of IMOCA’s pioneering initiatives – its programme to reduce the environmental impact of sail manufacturing – is now fully operational, amid hopes that other classes in sailing will now follow IMOCA’s lead.

The RISE programme – Reduced Impact Sail Evaluation – has been developed by IMOCA alongside six of the world’s leading sailmakers who provide sails for teams in the Class. 

The programme measures the environmental impact of the manufacture of sails used by IMOCA yachts and it is now in force across the Class, with a new scoring system in place by which sails are graded.

In partnership with the Life Cycle Assessment platform MarineShift360, RISE measures variables like waste, harmful emissions, use of renewable energy and the mode of transport used during sail manufacture and delivery, to grade sails according to their environmental impact. 

Every IMOCA yacht must henceforth carry at least one sail that conforms to the higher standards under RISE with a grading of between A-to-C under an eco-rating classification system based on the CO2e impact per kg of finished sail. The scheme works through a digital and physical audit process with external auditors scoring their submission based on a formal methodology before issuing a certification.

The plan now is for the programme to expand further so that more of the seven sails allowed on board during all IMOCA racing will conform to RISE’s higher standards. 

The initiative enjoys the full backing of World Sailing, the governing body of the sport, which has been watching the scheme develop over the past four years with the overwhelming support of skippers and teams in the Class. “RISE truly sets a new sail for sustainability where innovation, accountability and ocean racing meet to reduce our environmental wake,”said Jan Martin Wilschut, Chair of the World Sailing Classes Committee and Council Member.

Imogen Dinham-Price, IMOCA’s Sustainability and Partnerships Manager, who has overseen the introduction of RISE, says the initiative is a big step for the sport as a whole. “It’s the first time in sailing that any class or organisation has put in place stringent measures to grade or rate sails on their environmental impact,” she said. “It’s the first time too – and this is important to note – that there has been full collaboration between sailmakers, companies that are naturally very competitive. 

“They agreed on how RISE would be implemented, and agreed – as a whole – that they want to reduce the impact that the sail manufacturing sector has on the environment – so they are happy to have their sails graded along with everyone else,” she added.

The scheme owes its origins to discussions among skippers and the Class in the IMOCA Sports Committee in 2021 about how a more environmentally friendly sail might be produced. That year the “Green Sail Rule” was voted in by the committee. This was followed in 2022 by intensive discussions with sailmakers on what variables to measure, how those could be carried out, how sails might be graded and initial Life Cycle Assessments to understand the impact of sail production.

© Marin LE ROUX - polaRYSE

In 2023 the Green Sail Rule was introduced, requiring teams to carry at least one “Green Sail” during races, and in 2024 the RISE Platform was created to formalise the scoring system. This year the formal launch of the RISE Certification ensures the programme complies with the EU Green Claims Directive. 

Dinham-Price says the involvement of MarineShift360 was a big step in creating a workable digital tool. “Collaborating with MarineShift360 built the scheme into a certifiable programme and turned it into a really solid solution,” she said.

She highlighted that while the audit of sail production for the IMOCA Class is initially carried out digitally, with sailmakers volunteering information, the annual physical survey carried out by the Class ensures that the data they receive is accurate. 

Dinham-Price says a sail that qualifies for grading between A-and-C under the new scoring system will typically have involved no transport by air at any stage in production. It will have an emissions impact of about 20 kilos of CO2 per kilo of finished sail (compared to 35 kilos for a regular sail). It will involve significantly less waste material in the manufacturing process than a standard sail, and it will have used renewable energy where possible and less of it than in standard production. So far more than 140 sails – most of them headsails – have been produced under RISE’s strictest standards since 2023.

Dinham-Price says World Sailing has been in contact with all other classes in sailing about RISE and she is hoping the programme will spread throughout the sport. Already the Figaro class has shown serious interest in it. “Ideally, all other classes in sailing will take this programme on,”she said.   

Ed Gorman

THEY SAID 

“Working with IMOCA on the RISE initiative has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of the environmental footprint of not just offshore sails, but across of full sail product line. Through the MS360/RISE partnership LCA tool, we've been able to make informed decisions backed by data—like installing solar panels on our facility roof to directly reduce our operational emissions. RISE has not only helped us identify high-impact areas for reduction but has also strengthened our commitment to transparency and continuous improvement. For North Sails, RISE represents a shift from intention to action—enabling us to align innovation in performance with responsibility for the planet.” - Jono Macbeth, North Sails Sustainability Manager 

“Getting involved in RISE was an obvious choice for us. This initiative led by the IMOCA Class allows us to concretely measure our impact and identify levers for action to design more responsible sails, without compromising performance.”- Pierre-Antoine Morvan, Incidence Sails, Head of Offshore Racing and Superyachts Division

"We have been building a relationship with IMOCA Class for years and over the last six months we have been working with them even more closely to assess the environmental impact of the sails we produced for IMOCA teams, which together with other sailmakers helped to establish the baseline for RISE. We have been making substantial changes in our production, logistics, and in our lofts before RISE, but through this project we gained even more insight into other areas to improve. It makes me happy to see all sailmakers come together for a collective goal, and I am excited to see how RISE will develop - hopefully into other classes as well. I am looking forward to see RISE come into use soon, and until then at Quantum Sails we plan to keep searching for areas for improvement and lowering our overall environmental impact one step at a time."- Lara Poljšak, Quantum Sails Director of Sustainability

"At OneSails, we’re proud to support the IMOCA Class RISE program — an initiative that aligns with our commitment to innovation, performance, and sustainability in sailing. RISE is still a work in progress, but it’s clearly moving in the right direction toward becoming a reliable and valuable tool for teams, partners, and the class as a whole. Our exclusive 4T FORTE™ composite technology embodies this same spirit, combining cutting-edge performance with a reduced environmental footprint. We believe that programs like RISE are essential to shaping a smarter, more connected future for ocean racing." - Dede De Luca, CEO, OneSails International

“Doyle Sails is proud to have been accredited under IMOCA’s initial Green Sail Rule. Our sail not only met the original criteria but significantly exceeded the thresholds. As the industry evolves with new technologies and heightened environmental awareness, we’re excited to contribute to the second phase with the introduction of RISE. We're committed to continually assessing and refining our processes to minimize our impact across our entire global production process.” – Harri Wren, Doyle Sails Sustainability Manager