ICF and Starboard Make Positive Impact on the Planet

SAN DIEGO, California - The International Canoe Federation and environmental and manufacturing partner, Starboard, have made a positive impact on the planet during the first year of a long-term partnership to reduce the carbon footprint of ICF events.

Almost 8000 mangrove trees will be planted to offset the carbon dioxide released through travel to and from chosen ICF events during 2021. The ICF Stand Up Paddling World Championships, held in Balatonfured, Hungary, will be 10 times carbon positive, with more than 4000 mangrove trees to be planted to offset the estimated 400 tonnes of CO2 released during the event.

Another 1500 mangrove trees will be planted to offset emissions generated from selected white water events in 2021, and more than 2100 trees will be planted to compensate for CO2 emissions from selected flat water events.

Data on air, road, rail and sea travel was calculated for the selected events, and fed into the carbon footprint calculator created by Carbon Footprint UK. For each tonne of CO2 emitted by the SUP World Championships, ten trees will be planted to absorb the equivalent CO2 ten times over.

The ICF and Starboard partner with the Worldview International Foundation to plant the trees in Myanmar.

“Thanks to the futuristic leadership at ICF, watersport can become an activating voice in environmental protection,” Starboard CEO Svein Rasmussen said. "Next is perhaps to get all sports on board and turn the tide on deforestation to rather see reforestation as the trend. How about a 10x Climate Positive Paris 2024, creating a powerful environmental protection platform?"

Photo courtesy: Starboard

ICF President Thomas Konietzko said it was important canoe sports around the world play their part in preserving the environment that means so much to them.

"All over the world our canoeing family are constantly in contact with different ecosystems,” President Konietzko said. “They get to see first hand the pressures being placed on these environments. They are passionate about protecting our waterways, and it is our responsibility as sporting leaders to lead by example. By partnering with leading climate activists like Starboard, we're in a unique position to make an impact. We are already working to make our major events carbon neutral. This is just the first step. We owe it to our athletes, and to future generations."

In 2022 the ICF and Starboard will expand their partnership to include all major events, with the goal to make the entire international season carbon neutral. More effective methods will be introduced to collect travel details for all participants, including volunteers and onsite teams.

Further actions will also be implemented towards reducing waste, composting, and sourcing lower impact materials for each event.

The ICF/Starboard report for 2021 can be found here. 

About International Canoe Federation

The International Canoe Federation is responsible for the global sport of canoeing and has 167 affiliated National Associations and 13 disciplines - Sprint, Slalom, Paracanoe, Wildwater, Marathon, Canoe Polo, Freestyle, Ocean Racing, Dragon Boat, SUP, Rafting, WaveSki and Canoe Sailing. Canoeing has two Olympic disciplines, with sprint introduced at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and slalom at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games; Canoeing also made its debut at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with Paracanoe. Find out more about the International Canoe Federation at canoeicf.com.