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Carbon report Class40

Qaptur / TCO

Class40 Reduces Its Carbon Footprint and Strengthens Its Commitment to More Sustainable Offshore Racing

Since its creation, Class40 has championed a unique model in offshore racing: combining sporting performance, accessibility, and environmental responsibility. Designed to control costs, encourage diversity among both professional and amateur sailors, and extend the lifespan of boats through a regulated class rule, Class40 naturally embraces a resource optimization approach. This philosophy lies at the very core of the Class40 DNA.

In line with this commitment, Class40 is publishing its 2025 Carbon Footprint Report (Bilan Carbone®), carried out with the support of Green You Up, in accordance with the methodology developed by ADEME.

A Decreasing Carbon Footprint Despite Growing Activity

The 2025 Carbon Footprint of Class40 stands at 1,780 tonnes of CO₂e, representing a 6.26% reduction over two years. This progress aligns with the trajectory set by the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.

Several key indicators help illustrate the class’s impact:

• 8.39 tCO₂e per member
• 28 tCO₂e per active team
• 98.9 tCO₂e per race on average
• 61.5 tCO₂e per race excluding the Transat Café L’OR

The uncertainty rate of the report is 11.3%, reflecting improved data collection and traceability. Meanwhile, the fleet continues to grow, with 62 active teams in 2025 compared to 50 in 2023, highlighting the class’s strong momentum.

Boats, Sails and Transport: The Main Emission Sources

As in offshore racing overall, most greenhouse gas emissions are concentrated in two main areas:

• Boats and sails, accounting for nearly 45% of emissions, with an average annual footprint of 8.6 tCO₂e per boat
• Transport, representing around 38% of emissions, mainly linked to team and visitor travel to race villages

A significant improvement has been observed in air travel usage by teams, with emissions dropping from around 600 tCO₂e in the previous report to less than 100 tCO₂e today.

Another key development: the 2025 report now includes the footprint of race villages and visitors, estimated at 563 tCO₂e, which was not accounted for in the previous scope.

On a like-for-like basis, emissions have actually decreased by over 30% since 2023, reflecting the collective efforts of the entire Class40 ecosystem.

A Class Committed to Decarbonization

For several years, Class40 has been actively working to better measure and reduce its environmental impact. Concrete actions already implemented include:

• Eliminating return transport of boats by cargo ships to reduce maritime emissions
• Raising awareness among teams about decarbonization challenges
• Improving environmental data collection

The class is also aligned with the French National Low-Carbon Strategy, which targets carbon neutrality by 2050.

Target 2027: Reducing Emissions per Team

To maintain this momentum, Class40 has set a new objective:
reduce emissions per team by 7% by 2027.

Several action levers have been identified:

• Implementing a carbon footprint tracking tool for teams
• Exploring return race formats to limit air travel
• Developing lower-carbon sails
• Sharing best practices with other offshore racing classes

Towards More Responsible Offshore Racing

By publishing this new carbon report, Class40 reaffirms its commitment to combining sporting development with environmental responsibility.

In a context of continued growth in offshore racing, the class aims to pursue its efforts to better measure its impact, support teams in their transition, and contribute to evolving practices across the entire sailing industry.

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