11th Hour Racing Team: Team of the Year

At a glance:
Who: The 11th Hour Racing Team (Mark Towill, Charlie Enright, Meredith Carroll, Damian Foxall, Amy Munro, Isaac Murray, Emily Caroe)
What: A comprehensive strategy to leverage the power of sport for good
Where: HQ in Newport, USA. Races globally.
When: Award presented March 2023.
Why: Action and advocacy in the fields of low-carbon innovation and marine conservation. 

The Challenge:   

Oceans are critically important for climate mitigation, absorbing around a quarter of human-caused GHG emissions each year. They also provide climate adaptation benefits and host at least 15% of the world’s biodiversity, equivalent to 250,000+ known species.  

Yet oceans are under threat from the climate crisis, intensive aquaculture and pollution – to name just three risks.   

The other challenge this team addresses is the fact that sustainability strategizing in sporting events is in its relative infancy compared to many other sectors.  

The Solution:   

11th Hour Racing – an ocean racing team that leverages the influence that sports have over hearts and minds to advocate for conservation and climate action.  

Of course, advocacy works best when the team has their own house in order as a starting point. The team has innovated in the fields of not only low-carbon and zero-waste materials and processes, but also in terms of broader strategizing and mindset change, which has had a ripple effect across supply chain partners and other racing teas.  

The team has been fine-tuning its approach for five years.  

How it works:   

In terms of culture, every team member is required to dedicate at least 10 hours to sustainability-related learning each month. A virtual library of resources was created to ensure team members can learn even when remote from each other. The team also regularly engages in virtual and face-to-face training.  

All team members have been educated on concepts including planetary boundaries, systems thinking and the circular economy.  

The team has completed two environmental lifecycle assessments to identify opportunities to mitigate their impact on biodiversity and climate. It has drawn up a climate action plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions in operations and across the supply chain. A key workstream has been engaging with suppliers to develop alternatives to carbon fibre for boat building.  

The Team is also passionate spokespeople for ocean sustainability across their sport and more broadly. Between 2018 and 2023, team members delivered 85 speaking events from audiences ranging from policymakers to primary school pupils.   

The results:   

11th Hour Racing has implemented risk mitigation measures to reduce its own impact on ocean biodiversity, which have been taken on board across all teams competing in The Ocean Race.  

As it progresses towards its Climate Action Plan targets, it has published an open-source Sustainable Toolbox, providing SMEs in all sectors with free, best-practice advice on starting their sustainability journeys. Available in multiple languages and 100+ countries, it is available to the entire team supply chain and more widely. 600+ organisations have already accessed the Toolbox, including the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).   

Working with suppliers, the team has produced a proof-of-concept made from flax fibre, bio-based resins and recycled plastic in an attempt to commercialise lower-carbon alternatives to carbon fibre. The Ocean Race now encourages all teams to include alternative materials in new boats.  

The Judges said: “We were impressed by the team’s enthusiasm and vibrant approach, and applaud their dedication to developing clear principles practices that can help others become more sustainable – as well as their work to highlight the important and under-reported topic of marine health.”