Team Carbon Challenge, which submitted a challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup on December 14th 2007 through the Royal Belgium Sailing Club (RBSC), has today decided not to continue with participation in the 33rd America’s Cup.

This decision was taken in agreement with the RBSC after evaluation of the latest legal developments regarding the 33rd America’s Cup.

Instead of investing further in maintaining a position as a challenger for several more months in uncertainty about whether the 33rd America’s Cup will be organized as a multi-challenger event or sailed in a “Deed of Gift” format, the Carbon Challenge board has decided to fully focus its efforts on developing its climate change management training academy and surrounding activities. Carbon Challenge hopes to remain active in the America’s Cup community and will, through not-for-profit foundation Carbon Challenge Academy, continue to offer its expertise and resources to the America’s Cup family in its pursuit of sustainability-related goals.

At the time of lodging its challenge, Carbon Challenge was not in total agreement with the wording of certain clauses in the protocol originally put forward by by SNG and CNEV, but was never in any doubt as to the sincerity of the defender’s commitment to a fair event. Carbon Challenge feels that all disputes about the protocol and other regulations for the 33rd America’s Cup can be resolved through constructive discussions among  sports teams.  Participation in the recent competitors’ meetings has proven that to be possible.  In these meetings, both SNG and CNEV have demonstrated their earnest resolve to agree to protocol changes that put beyond any doubt that their intention is to provide an event of high quality in which the best sports team will win.

Carbon Challenge’s withdrawal is a direct consequence of GGYC’s decision to continue its legal actions which have placed the 33rd America’s Cup on hold for almost 18 months.

Carbon Challenge sincerely hopes that the America’s Cup will be back on the water soon as a multi-challenger regatta to avoid further damage to the world’s oldest international sports trophy and most prestigious sailing regatta.

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Carbon Challenge Holding AG announces the opening of its Carbon Challenge Academy (CCA) in Valencia on 10 October. After a successful soft-opening with 28 Masters of International Management students from 15 leading CEMS European business schools during September (see photo), CCA will inaugurate its business training programmes with two carbon management training events for company CEO’s at the end of this month.

CCA is a management academy fully focussed on training and educating current and future business leaders to enable businesses to respond to the implications of climate change. CCA’s learning architecture is built on “experience-based learning”, with sailing being a core element of all training programmes. It was for this reason that Carbon Challenge looked at the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race as a platform for demonstrating success through carbon consciousness and building partnerships with the business community.

Tom Weaver, Sailing Director for Carbon Challenge, comments: “Our project prompted a great response the corporate community, but timing was too short and the prevailing difficult economic environment too difficult to allow sufficient funding for a competitive Volvo Ocean Race campaign. We were most encouraged by the interest from the business sector and, especially, the sailing community in our efforts to introduce a sustainability focus into the race.  It is pleasing that the sustainability theme is becoming increasingly important in sailing and sport events, and we look forward to playing a role in that process”.

(more…)

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The Carbon Challenge is aiming to inspire sponsors at land and in the water, says German trade magazine "HORIZONT Sport Business" in its recent newsletter. Horizont says it’s "a platform for climate aware sponsors".

Rückenwind fürs Gewissen
Die Carbon Challengestellt sich nicht nur sportlichen, sondern vor allem ökologisch an-
spruchsvollen Herausforderungen – eine Plattform für klimabewusste Sponsoren

Wer bislang energiesparende Fahrzeuge mit PS-müden Langweilern in Verbindung gebracht hatte, dürfte demnächst eines
Besseren belehrt werden – zumindest, was die Fortbewegung auf dem Wasser anbelangt. Mit „Carbon Challenge“ geht erst-
mals ein Boot bei einem der härtesten Rennen, dem Volvo Ocean Race, an den Start, das sich den Klimaschutz auf die Segel geschrieben hat.

Read full article at sportbusiness.horizont.net

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NZZ: Neue Ziele im Ocean Race
Auch Klimaschützer wollen an den Start

Bei der alle drei Jahre stattfindenden, ursprünglich nach dem britischen Bierbrauer Withbread und seit der Jahrtausendwende nach dem neuen Hauptsponsor Volvo benannten Weltumsegelungs-Regatta geht es längst nicht mehr nur um Sieg oder sportliches Mitmachen. Die Werbebotschaften auf Segeln und Rumpf der leichten, übertackelten und wie Jollen über die Wogen gleitenden 70-Fuss-Jachten lassen sich vor spektakulärerem Hintergrund und auch länger - neun Monate - vermarkten als jene auf den Match-Racern des gemächlichen America’s-Cup- Dreieckkurses. Auch ist das Ocean Race mit der Ausweitung der Etappenzahl (zehn statt der ursprünglichen vier) näher ans Publikum und an die Filmkameras gerückt worden. (more…)

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Frederik, what is your role as the head of the Carbon Challenge Academy?

My role is to assure the implementation of our learning architecture, to constantly monitor and adjust the academy program and to gather experts, academics, business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, coaches able to contribute to our vision of offering best in class training for decision makers in carbon management. This unique combination inside the CCA allows passing from an ambitious inspiring and training program to action and results, as much for the carbon reduction challenge as for the development of business and people. The CCA will demonstrate that the challenge we have to face is a solid opportunity for value creation on the material point of view but also in regards to giving new sense to our professional engagements.

Where do you see CEMS’ particular expertise to support the CCA?

The decision-making is an emotional process based on the conviction that we have (or not). Of course an important rational investment has to be done to prepare this moment. In that perspective the CCA is offering an education to critical minds in carbon management to go out of the common sceptical (or cynical) attitude concerning climate change and its impact on the business sphere, but at the same time to avoid an ideological approach of the question. For me, the business pro has to manage facts and produce results that contribute to the development of the community. In that perspective the widely regarded quality of CEMS academics in business education through the CEMS-MIM program is a very important ingredient to the CCA learning concept to allow the top managers to take things into account.

In which way can experiences from sailing be implemented to the academic world? (more…)

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"We all have our habits, and changing habits is not easy. Too often, we make our personal changes too late, like improving our diet after a heart attack, or seeing the mistakes made by an ailing friend. Other times, it is the iconic force of something we closely relate to that can make us take the first step. For sailors, that could be the program being devised by the Carbon Challenge’s Race Against Global Warming, and its entry in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09."

Read the full newsletter at Scuttlebutt.

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Carbon Challenge aims for starting line

A syndicate with environmental issues at the heart of their campaign has emerged as a potential eighth entry for the 2008-09 race.

Known as Carbon Challenge, the objective of the campaign is to raise awareness of the harmful effects of global warming as the team travels the globe by significantly reducing their carbon footprint.

(…) Sailing matters will be in the hands of the former Mascalzone Latino America’s Cup project manager Tom Weaver.

“We will have already saved an incredible amount of energy compared to a team that builds a new boat. In theory at least, we don’t have to sacrifice a lot of performance versus the other teams as my research indicates that we can be reasonably competitive, investing our personal energy in making the boat fast. (…)

“Using a pre-campaigned boat, our crew will have a harder job keeping up with the rest of the field. But that is part of the challenge – to outperform expectations by being carbon conscious.”

Read the full story at volvooceanrace.com

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To view the release "EEB Project Shares Knowledge to Support Carbon Challenge" on their website click here.

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Progress can begin immediately because knowledge and technology exist today to slash the energy buildings use, while at the same time improving levels of comfort. Behavioral, organizational and financial barriers stand in the way of immediate action, and three approaches can help overcome them: (more…)

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