She hasn’t even set off on her first cruise yet. However, the first flybridge yacht by Royal Huisman, Twizzle, is already making history. Her owner is offsetting emissions from not just her current and future fuel consumption, but also the materials and energy from construction.
To do so, the 57.5-meter (189-foot) Twizzle has enrolled in a program with Yacht Carbon Offset. The organization’s staff is quite familiar with the yachting industry. It works with notable companies like BWA Yachting, International Yacht Collection, PrivatSea, VSY Superyachts, and the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association. Yacht Carbon Offset offers Lloyds Register Quality Assurance certification, too. This confirms that a company’s sustainability strategies are trustworthy and comply with recognized mechanisms like the Kyoto Protocol. It also ensures that the emissions claims are verifiable and accurate.
To that end, Yacht Carbon Offset is guaranteeing that the emissions from Twizzle’s future cruises (including charters) will match, ton for ton, emissions savings from eco-friendly energy projects. Normally, Yacht Carbon Offset assists superyachts in compensating for their carbon footprint. But Mark Robinson, the managing director, says Twizzle’s owner has taken the approach further than any other. He is “extending the scope to include both the energy and the principal materials of her construction,” Robinson specifies.
Regarding construction, the carbon offset is a one-time expense. Yacht Carbon Offset estimates the energy that Royal Huisman used for steel work, using other materials, and installing systems. It also applies to the actual aluminum and steel content of the yacht herself. Just as it does for the fuel consumption credits, Yacht Carbon Offset determines exactly how many credits are necessary to purchase by calculating the emissions from a megayacht’s engines, gensets, watertoys, tenders, and even the helicopter. Each credit represents 1 ton of carbon dioxide.
Overall, this step is one of many that the owner of Twizzle has taken to ensure his yacht will be “green.” She’ll reportedly have no discharge into the ocean, and she’ll be permitted to cruise environmentally sensitive regions.
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