Published to mark World Oceans Day on 8 June and with the 2024 Paris Olympics on the horizon, the report covers the organisation's operations, events, training and stakeholder engagement across class associations, manufacturers and organising committees. 

Designed to set the baseline for annual updates, the report acknowledges that while significant progress has been made in several areas, there is still work to be done. World Sailing is the leading international federation on sustainability, and the sport has made an impressive contribution to the progress since the launch of the 2030 Sustainability Agenda in 2017. 

Alexandra Rickham, World Sailing's Director of Sustainability, said, "We represent a global community of sailors who play their sport and live on the frontline of climate change. We have a duty to lead the way in sustainability standards. We are delighted to publish the Sustainability Report and demonstrate the impact of our efforts and the work of others." 

"The report has been three years in the making and charts our journey against our longer term goals. 2023 was our first fully operational year since 2020, and is the most accurate year against which all future reports will be judged. There has been excellent progress across the sport, and I thank everyone at World Sailing and our partners and stakeholders for their hard work, innovation and willingness to join us in our mission to achieve the goals in all five areas of the sport." 

"Much has been achieved, but more hard work is needed and at World Sailing we remain focused on achieving the goals of the 2030 Sustainability Agenda. We also need others in sailing and the wider sector to play their part and I hope the Sustainability Report will encourage everyone to take action," she concluded. 

Key highlights for 2023 include a 67% reduction in energy emissions at the World Sailing Championships through the use of HVO fuel, and a 26% reduction in the carbon footprint of World Sailing staff attending the World Sailing Championships in The Hague. Targets in ttechnology, events and membership operations have been prioritised for 2023, with further work required in the areas of education, venues and facilities and participation. 

World Sailing also won the IOC Climate Action Award for sustainable travel and contributed to the One Carbon World Be A Net Zero Hero campaign, which reached 12.4 million people. 

CEO David Graham chaired the inaugural meeting of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Sustainability Consultative Group, which brought together members of more than 30 international federations, as well as the IOC, the ASOIF and the United Nations to promote cross-sport collaboration and strategy.