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International Sustainable Boating Council, Inc. |
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On the heels of congressional climate
legislation and the Environmental Protection Agency's endangerment
finding, American industries are on the cusp of a clean energy
transformation. Hybrid and electrical automobiles are all the rave,
and a growing number of new commercial buildings across the country
are constructed to operate efficiently and to reduce carbon
emissions. There is no doubt that over the coming decades clean
energy technologies will continue to become a dominant part of our
industries and our economy. Unfortunately, recreational and
industrial boating have, for the most part, been on the sidelines of
these exciting changes. SBC hopes to change that! The International Sustainable Boating Council, INC. was recently founded to help pave the road for the boating industry to enter the clean energy future. Through our developing programs, SBC will help accelerate the imminent transition of the boating industry into environmentally sustainable design, manufacture, operation, and recycling practices. ======================================================================================== Coming Soon In the coming months SBC will begin development of the following programs: BLUE-SEA Vessel Rating and Certification Program Through its Bio-responsible Lifecycles Using Sustainable Engineering Approaches (BLU-SEA) certification program, ISBC will rate vessels from concept through disposal/recycling in an attempt to incentivize a shift in the boating community towards sustainability. In order for the ratings to be respected by the public, they will be awarded by an independent third party. To assure wide adoption and utilization they will be consensus-based, attainable, practical, and ultimately more economical for the manufacturers than non-sustainable practices. These comprehensive standards will cover boat design, manufacture, operation, and retirement, and in the coming months there will be ample opportunity for the boating community to get involved in their development. ======================================================================================== Volunteer Observations from Small Craft Program (VOSC) Ocean observation networks are valuable assets to the scientific, forecasting, and boating communities. They are also expensive, risky, and challenging to operate. And the largest risk to dedicated observation buoys, particularly in near-shore waters, is damage from small craft. The VOSC program will seek to turn this problem into an asset – by acquiring useable data from the very vessels that pose a risk to traditional platforms. Its goal is to establish a global network of many thousands of ocean sensors on private, volunteer vessels that are automatically linked in near-real-time to the US Integrated Ocean Observation System (IOOS). ======================================================================================== Coalition for Clean Watercraft (CCW) The CCW is a partnership of individuals, private sector companies, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, and resource managers dedicated to supporting the growth and advancement of alternative powered, low impact and sustainable (clean) marine transportation options. Its goals are: 1) To assist vessel owners seeking to acquire functional and economical clean boats 2) To demonstrate the viability and advantages of clean technology to the commercial and recreational markets by publicizing of the results and performance under typical, real-world conditions by ordinary owners-operators. 3) To foster the growth of green marine industry. CCW is a natural fit for SBC, and we are proud to be part of the coalition. To get involved with the development of any of these programs email: |
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