Sports, business and science to save the sea. Here’s how

ROCKWOOL and One Ocean Foundation join forces in an innovative, multi-year, global-scale scientific partnership to accelerate solutions to protect all seas and revive them.

The collaboration, which will see One Ocean Foundation becoming a “Race for the Future partner” of Team Denmark SailGP by ROCKWOOL starting with this third season of the SailGP circuit will connect international business, sport at its highest level and cutting-edge science with the goal of creating a positive impact.

With the support of an independent scientific committee and in collaboration with prestigious institutions, research centers and universities, One Ocean Foundation aims to accelerate solutions to ocean problems by inspiring international leaders, companies, institutions and individuals, promoting a sustainable blue economy and improving ocean literacy through ocean literacy.

Mirella Vitale, Senior Vice President Group Marketing, Communication and Public Affairs at ROCKWOOL: “We are very happy about this partnership with One Ocean Foundation, we trust it will help show the power of nature and the importance of leaders in creating positive and sustainable change. SailGP is leading the way globally in sports and sustainability, and this partnership with an innovative scientific foundation whose mission is to protect the oceans is a perfect fit for ROCKWOOL and our sponsorship of Team Denmark SailGP.”

Creating a better future by reviving the oceans

During the third SailGP season, Team Denmark SailGP by ROCKWOOL will partner with One Ocean Foundation with the goal of analyzing, tracking and reducing its carbon and plastic footprint during its activities as part of SailGP’s Impact League initiative.

Nicolai Sehested, helmsman of Team Denmark SailGP by ROCKWOOL, explains, “For us, Danish sailors, sustainability is in our DNA and we care about protecting our seas. We want the partnership with One Ocean Foundation to help create a new standard for the sport by significantly reducing our impact, using science to generate positive change, and inspiring others to take action.”

Riccardo Bonadeo, President of One Ocean Foundation: “We are proud to partner with ROCKWOOL and Team Denmark SailGP in this union between a global leader in its industry and its highest profile athletes, both with the sea in their hearts. Together we will be able to create positive and lasting change to inspire and engage others.”

Before leading ROCKWOOL and the Denmark SailGP campaign, Sehested participated in two editions of the Ocean Race, during which he saw firsthand the impact of waste and pollution in even the most remote places on earth.

“I remember,” he added, “spotting trash floating at Point Nemo in the Antarctic Ocean, a place where you are closer to the International Space Station than to any human being on earth. When you go through those places untouched by civilization and find pollution, you really realize the magnitude of the challenge our oceans face.”

Oceanic scientific research, cutting-edge technology and world-class sports come together

The foiling catamaran F50 will become a kind of flying science laboratory, thanks to new research to be conducted by Team Denmark SailGP athletes during the third season.

In partnership with One Ocean Foundation, the Danish team of Olympians and rainbow athletes will collect a series of plankton samples in each of the 11 cities hosting stages of the SailGP circuit to create a first international map of marine health.
Continues Sehested: “The opportunity to accelerate scientific understanding of our seas right from the race courses of the SailGp circuit, in some of the world’s most important cities, is really exciting. We hope that by using this global platform, we can raise awareness about the state of the oceans and show the importance of protecting and regenerating them.”

Samples taken will be sent to a laboratory to analyze the presence of pollutants, including microplastics, in marine food chains and to monitor the health of the waters at each location in real time.

“Despite the fact that more than 70 percent of the Earth is covered by water, we don’t know enough about our oceans, and you can’t protect what you don’t know,” explains Sandro Carniel, head of the Department of Research at the Institute of Marine Science and part of the One Ocean Foundation’s Scientific Committee. This scientific endeavor undertaken by Team Denmark SailGP athletes will help us not only to better understand the state of our oceans in different places, but also to predict future challenges and identify innovative, effective and locally relevant solutions.”

Team Denmark SailGp is now in the Bermuda Islands preparing for the first Sail Grand Prix of the third season, which will take place May 14-15. The boat, decorated with Danish Viking warrior Holger Danske, will also display the One Ocean Foundation logo for the first time.

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