Inspiring sustainability sessions on METSTRADE I-nnovationLAB Stage

This year’s METSTRADE Show will again feature a dedicated I-nnovationLAB Stage, designed to stimulate discussions on a variety of topics in the leisure marine industry. The stage on the exhibition floor (Hall 6) will host two expert panel debates during the first two days of the METSTRADE Show on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 November 2018.

The panel sessions will host a range of specialists from the industry with an expert background related to the topics at hand. The audience will be invited to actively participate, and each session will end with the moderator summarising the main conclusions of the discussions and reviewing recommendations for the future.

Cleaner oceans and waterways
The I-nnovationLAB Stage on 13 November will focus on a very current topic: the health of oceans, rivers and lakes. This subject is increasingly coming to the attention of the general public because of media exposure and campaigns by scientists, politicians and celebrities. The leisure marine industry has a greater stake than most in the sustainable utilisation and management of marine resources, and the health and cleanliness of waterways.

The session will look at various initiatives by enterprising marinas, yacht clubs, sailing organisations and creative individuals to contribute to environmental sustainability and ocean conservation. It will be moderated by Albert Willemsen, an environmental consultant from ICOMIA, and the panellists will consist of Lonneke Holierhoek (COO of The Ocean Cleanup), Tony Browne (director of Adriatic Marinas, Porto Montenegro), Pete Ceglinski (managing director of the Seabin Project), Dan Reading (sustainability programme manager at World Sailing) and Sara-Jane Skinner (head of partnerships at the BLUE Marine Foundation).

The search for authentic sustainability
The second session of the I-nnovationLab Stage, on 14 November, will ask how genuine many of the green initiatives in the leisure marine industry are, how much of a problem that is, and whether there are ways to improve the situation. It will look at the real long-term benefits of sustainable measures in the industry and ways to quantifiably measure their lifecycle effect and total environmental impact. This will focus notably on the issue of ‘greenwashing’ – the risk that lip service is paid to environmental matters or that a minimum of reforms are carried out as a fig leaf for operations that continue to be unsustainable. Other industries with a similar outlook will be considered such as the automotive sector.

The session will be moderated by Patrick Hemp, technical manager of ICOMIA, and the panellists will be Dr Vienna Eleuteri (sustainability manager at Viareggio Superyachts), Ken Wittamore (managing director of Triskel Marine, Hybrid Power & Propulsion Systems), Jaap van der Woude (sustainability committee chair of the European Composites Industry Association), James Starkey (yacht design & production graduate from Southampton University) and Charlotte Schiffer (designer at the LADIDA Design Institute).

Sustainability in the limelight
“This is the second year that sustainability will be at the very heart of the METSTRADE Show,” explains RAI Amsterdam’s maritime domain manager Irene Dros. “This clearly demonstrates our commitment to these crucial issues and ensures we have the broadest possible reach. We intend to continue placing sustainability at the forefront of our activities as METSTRADE encourages and advocates for ways to implement more environmentally friendly practices throughout the industry.”

This perspective is also reflected on METSTRADE.com, a permanent platform active throughout the year which hosts content, news, and debates on all topics relevant to producers, service providers, and customers in the leisure marine industry.