ROCKWOOL and Denmark SailGP Team unveil science-based partnership with One Ocean Foundation

ROCKWOOL has joined forces with One Ocean Foundation in a ground-breaking, multi-year global scientific partnership focused on accelerating solutions to protect and regenerate our ocean.

The collaboration – which will see One Ocean Foundation become Race For The Future partner of Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL ahead of SailGP Season 3 – will connect global business, world-class sport and cutting-edge science, to drive positive impact.

Backed by an independent scientific committee, and working with a range of prestigious institutions, research centres and universities, the One Ocean Foundation aims to accelerate solutions to ocean issues by inspiring international leaders, promoting blue economy and improving knowledge through ocean literacy.

Mirella Vitale, Senior Vice President, Group Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs at ROCKWOOL, said: “We’re really excited about this partnership with One Ocean Foundation, which we hope can help to showcase the power of nature and the importance of leaders in creating positive, sustainable change.

“SailGP is leading the way in global sport and sustainability, and this collaboration with a science-based, innovative ocean foundation is a perfect fit for ROCKWOOL and our sponsorship of the Denmark SailGP Team”.

Building a better future, regenerating our ocean

In Season 3 of SailGP, Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL will collaborate with One Ocean Foundation with the objective to analyse, track and reduce the carbon and plastic footprint of team operations as part of SailGP’s ground-breaking Impact League initiative.

The Impact League is unique in sport. A second leaderboard that runs alongside the SailGP Season Championship, it sees all 10 teams scored on their positive actions to reduce footprint and help accelerate innovation and inclusivity in the sport.

Nicolai Sehested, driver of Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL, explains: “As Danish sailors, sustainability is in our DNA, and we are passionate about protecting our oceans. We hope that our partnership with One Ocean Foundation will help us to set a new standard in sports by significantly reducing our footprint, using science to drive positive impact, and inspiring others to take action”.

Riccardo Bonadeo, President of One Ocean Foundation, says: “We are proud to partner with ROCKWOOL and Denmark SailGP Team in this unique collaboration featuring industry-leading global business, and world-class athletes, with the ocean at heart. We believe that, together, we can create positive and lasting change to inspire and engage others, in Denmark and beyond”.

Prior to leading ROCKWOOL and Denmark’s SailGP campaign, Sehested competed twice in The Ocean Race – and has seen the impacts of trash and pollution first hand, even in some of Earth’s most remote spots.

“I remember spotting trash floating around at Point Nemo, in the Southern Ocean – a place where you’re closer to the astronauts in the International Space Station, than anyone else on land. When you race through those spots, untouched by civilisation, and see pollution, you truly realise the scale of the challenge facing our ocean”, he adds.

Innovative ocean science, cutting-edge technology and world-class sport collide

The foiling F50 catamaran raced in SailGP will become a flying science lab in Season 3, thanks to a new, season-long experiment set to be conducted by Denmark SailGP Team’s world-class athletes.

In partnership with the One Ocean Foundation, the Danish team – featuring Olympic champions and world title winners – will collect a series of plankton samples in every SailGP venue, to create a first-ever global ocean health map of 11 iconic ocean cities around the planet.

“The opportunity to accelerate scientific understanding of our ocean from our foiling F50, right in the heart of the SailGP race track, in some of the world’s best cities, is really exciting. We hope that, by using this global platform, we can raise awareness on the state of our ocean, and showcase the importance of protecting and regenerating it”, continues Sehested.

The samples will be sent to a lab to analyse the presence of pollutants, including microplastics, in the marine food webs to monitor the real-time health of the ocean in each location.

“Despite more than 70 percent of Earth being covered by water, we still don’t know enough about our ocean – and you can’t protect something you don’t understand”, explains Sandro Carniel, Head of Research Division at the Institute of Marine Science, and part of the One Ocean Foundation Scientific Committee.

“This global scientific effort undertaken by the Denmark SailGP Team athletes will help us to not only better understand the state of our oceans in a number of diverse and iconic venues, but also help us to forecast future challenges, and identify innovative, locally-relevant and effective solutions”.

Denmark SailGP Team is now in Bermuda preparing for the first Sail Grand Prix of Season 3, which takes place on 14-15 May. The boat – emblazoned with Danish Viking warrior Holger Danske – will also feature One Ocean Foundation branding as it races in the Great Sound.

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