EGBS team have been crowned Champions of SailGP’s Impact League

Sir Ben Ainslie and Hannah Mills’ Emirates Great Britain SailGP team have been crowned Champions of SailGP’s Impact League, to be awarded at the first-ever Impact Awards – a celebration of the season’s sustainable efforts on and off the water, held in the lead up to the Season 4 Grand Final in San Francisco. The team’s victory marks the third new Impact League champion in as many seasons for the parallel podium to the racing Championship.

A world first, the Impact League runs alongside the SailGP Season Championship itself, and tracks the positive actions teams take to reduce their overall footprint and accelerate inclusivity in sailing. The competition is overseen and judged independently by some of the most credible and noteworthy names in industry - from renowned leader in climate policy, Rachel Kyte, to three-time W Series Champion and IndyCar driver, Jamie Chadwick. Throughout the season, teams are judged against four new Focus Areas aligned to SailGP’s overall strategy ambitions- Climate Action, Accelerating Inclusion, Race to Zero Waste, and Breaking Boundaries.

The Great Britain team have rounded off a hugely impactful season on and off the water to lift the highly coveted trophy and secure prize funds for their purpose partner, Protect Our Future, and their collaborative ambition to empower 3 million young people to take climate action by the end of Season 5. Emirates GBR had just a handful of points lead over runners-up ROCKWOOL Denmark - last season’s Impact League champions - and Switzerland in third place.

And what sealed the deal for Emirates GBR was securing first place in the fourth and final round of the League’s focus areas – Breaking Boundaries – the opportunity to increase gender equity on board the F50 in line with SailGP’s Women’s Pathway Strategy, and focus on getting female athletes more time in the driver, wing trimmer and flight controller roles.

Ahead of the inaugural Impact Awards hosted at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills OBE, said: “We are so proud to be crowned winners of the Impact League. The whole team has worked extremely hard to not only make positive changes ourselves, but also inspire others to take climate action too. Across the season we’ve achieved some amazing things with our purpose partners, Protect Our Future and Low Carbon, from educating 1,750 children at SailGP events on climate action to taking our team base off-grid with our renewable energy installation. We are looking forward to defending the Impact League trophy next season with even more exciting and innovative projects.”

Sir Ben Ainslie, CEO Emirates GBR CEO enthused: “Winning the Impact League is testament to the team’s unwavering commitment to sustainability, innovation, and using the power of sport to inspire and educate the next generation. This win highlights the importance of collaboration and innovation in addressing environmental challenges. Athletes and sports teams have a responsibility to use their platform to drive positive change and raise awareness about climate issues. By advocating for sustainability, they can help protect our future.”

After finishing third on the Impact League podium in Season 3, Emirates GBR chased down the trophy with increased commitment and focus throughout the season. The team placed second in the Climate Action Focus Area for their work with global renewable energy company, Low Carbon, to create a bespoke portable solar and wind installation. The installation, consisting of 38 solar panels and two micro wind turbines, produces enough renewable energy to take the Emirates GBR team base off-grid at events and also help power other SailGP teams. Following the project’s success, the team and Low Carbon worked together to produce a Blueprint to provide other sports teams and industries with the information needed to incorporate renewable energy.

Emirates GBR then took the top spot for Breaking Boundaries, with highly ambitious and committed pathways for athletes Hannah Mills and Hannah Diamond, on and off the water. Mills and Emirates GBR CEO Sir Ben Ainslie also launched Athena Pathway, a development programme for female and youth athletes to widen the talent pool for SailGP. Emirates GBR’s commitment to accelerating inclusion in the sport is also exemplary, creating an internship programme in collaboration with The Greig City Academy, an inner-city London school. Kai Hockley, an 18-year-old from Tottenham, London, was part of the first intake and has traveled to five SailGP events with the team to date. They have also hosted more than 1,750 young people in climate action workshops across the calendar, with the support of their partner, Protect Our Future.

While only one can lift the coveted Impact League trophy, there were stand-out moments for all front-runners this season. ROCKWOOL Denmark led the way for most of the season, excelling in Focus Area projects and scoring a huge 90 out of 100 points in Accelerating Inclusion. The team’s community outreach project in Taranto engaged under privileged groups in the local community, reducing social-economic barriers to inclusion by broadening their understanding of issues such as ocean science and climate change.

Switzerland were also ones to watch. After a complete U-turn from their standing in Season 3, several high-impact initiatives put the Swiss on the podium forefront, notably their initiative to collect water from boat washdowns to reuse and recycle, which judges acknowledged had significant potential to scale across the marine industry - and beyond…

Speaking from the heart ahead of the Impact Awards, SailGP’s Chief Purpose Officer Fiona Morgan said: "I am incredibly proud to have delivered another year of the Impact League and it is great to see a new team winning - three different Champions in as many seasons - and such fierce competition with all teams upping their game across the season calendar. The global impact the Podium for the Planet delivers is unrivaled; working with world-class partners, we’re creating a ripple effect in sailing and inspiring other sports. I am really thrilled for the Great Britain team and their Impact League title - they came into the season wanting to win and have delivered a super impactful calendar, with great initiatives across both social and environmental sustainability”.