11th Hour Racing edged out Extreme E and British Curling to claim the 2023 BASIS Innovation Award for their Toolbox 8-step sustainability programme. With nominations now open, who will win the 2024 award?
Who are 11th Hour Racing?
11th Hour Racing is a not-for-profit community of sailors, surfers, scientists, outdoor and ocean enthusiasts, united by their passion for a thriving ocean. They work to mobilise sports, maritime and coastal communities with an innovative approach to inspire solutions for the ocean. Since 2010, 11th Hour Racing has been promoting collaborative, systemic change through three primary areas of engagement: sponsorships, grantees and ambassadors.
What is the Toolbox?
The Toolbox is a free suite of guides, tools, and templates housed within an eight-step process to help organisations create a comprehensive sustainability program.
The Toolbox’s mission is to make creating a sustainability strategy accessible to all.
Created and led by a British and Irish contingent within 11th Hour Racing Team, it recognise that it can be daunting for organizations to know where to start and how to tackle the complexity of the sustainable transition. In response to a clear need for support from our peers and suppliers, the Toolkbox provides a framework to integrate sustainability practices.
How has the initiative had a sustainable impact?
The Toolkbox has been made available to all, with more than 600 organisations accessing 60+ free resources and personalised 1:1 guidance.
Practical tools help empower teams to position themselves as change agents and effectively plan, track, and communicate their progress, combined with a creative communications platform which have created a dynamic ecosystem to exchange ideas, provide support, and advance collective effort.
The toolkit has helped users prioritising energy and emissions and their net-zero journey, with a Carbon Calculator, Net-Zero-Pathway Tool, and Climate Action Tracker making it simple to analyse data and progress towards the goals set by the Paris Agreement.
The Compliance Tracker and Issues Matrix help create processes that align with desired certifications or standards, such as ISO14001 or ISO20121 systems of operation.
Socially, survey tools and the HR Tracker support organisations to examine and track accessibility and equality within their operations and to incorporate these values into their overall strategy.
How has the initiative had a positive impact on sport?
Through a series of workshops, the toolbox has been used to engage more than 100 National Olympic Committees, building their capacity to craft and implement sustainability strategies.
More than 20 users have embraced the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action pledge, cementing their commitment to environmental responsibility, and 94% of participants said they felt more confident in building a sustainability program after the workshops.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has encouraged all federations undergoing sustainability training to harness the The Toolbox to shape their strategies.
The Toolbox has also been embraced by the International Snow and Ski Federation (ISSF), World Rugby, and the English Football League (EFL).
Find out more about the toolbox here.
