The 4th Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Rendezvous demonstrated how the marina industry can use sustainability as a tool to drive real change.
The two-day event, held at the Yacht Club de Monaco and organised by Monaco Marina Management (M3), saw startups and scaleups, architect firms and marinas come together with a shared goal to make maritime infrastructures more sustainable. The event was followed by a prize-giving ceremony to honour innovations in the industry.
Supported by key partners including the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Extended Monaco, UBS, MB92 Group and Bombardier, this year's event highlighted the importance of technology and cross-sector partnerships to meet today’s environmental challenges. José Marco Casellini, CEO of M3, said,"Tomorrow’s yachting must be smart and sustainable. Maritime infrastructures have to adapt to new needs and this event puts the spotlight on those changes."
Bernard d’Alessandri, YCM general secretary and president of Cluster Yachting Monaco, agreed: "The sustainability quest is urgent. As yachting enthusiasts, it is up to us to promote positive, sustainable innovation efforts."
The event centred round three panel discussions. The first, chaired by Captain Gino Battaglia, president of the Italian Yacht Masters association and event partner, tackled the role of technologies in optimising unique experiences in a marina. In this thoughtful debate, Captain Kelly J. Gordon stressed the need for practical tools such as a smart berthing app, and Randy Durband, CEO, Global Sustainable Tourism Council (South Korea) called on industry-wide data collection for effective sustainable management. While the panel agreed that efficiency and a need to digitise operations was an imperative, they also stressed the complementarity between the needs of captains and marina managers to improve sustainability.
The second conference, chaired by Pascal Ferry, deputy director of IMSEE (Monegasque Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) explored the challenges of financing sustainable development of marinas. Habacoa Marina founder and CEO, Ronnie Ben Zur alongside Klaus Peters CEO of InterMarinas and Liza Singer, advocate and founder of Karpaz Gate Marina, discussed barriers to investment and agreed that data collection and transparency could be useful levers to attract more funds. They all agreed that integrating sustainability from the start was now an essential prerequisite to every new project.
The last session, chaired by Oscar Siches, specialist and marina designer, brought together Effie Nakajima, senior associate at Zaha Hadid Architects, Nicolas Jarry, head of Maritime Projects and Port Structures at Tractebel Engineering, Janna Bystrykh, director of the Architecture Master program at the Architecture Academy (Netherlands) and architect and innovator Henry Glogau. The panel discussed how regenerative architecture principles were the key to modern marina design and also how close collaboration between architects and engineers is vital to combat environmental challenges.
The International Smart & Sustainable Marina Awards closed the event with prizes for the most outstanding projects from innovators who presented their ideas and projects throughout the two days.
THE WINNERS
• Architecture Student - Cornelia Bosman (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
• Architecture Professional - STRUCTURELAB (Germany)
This firm focuses on ecological and sustainable architecture including modular timber construction, real estate transformation, smart densification and green facades.
• Coup de Cœur du Public – Architecture - ARROGANT ARCHITECTS (Bulgaria)
These architects show a commendable commitment to sustainability which includes artificial nurseries, improved thermal insulation and use of seawater heat pumps. They also integrate prefabricated and local materials to cut CO2 emissions.
• Marina - ALCUDIAMAR (Spain)
This marina uses smart energy management systems to optimise electricity and water consumption, thereby reducing its carbon footprint. It has also adopted several initiatives, including charging points for electric vehicles and boats and innovative solutions for managing waste.
• Coup de Cœur du Jury – Marina - SETUR MARINAS KAS (Turkey)
Committed to protecting the environment, Setur has achieved certifications like the Blue Flag and ISO 14001 : 2015. Not only do they manage invasive species, but they invest in renewable energy, employ a waste management strategy to reduce plastic pollution and are committed to renewable energy with an investment in solar power and dedicated area for solar panels.
• Startup - CLEAN SEA SOLUTIONS (Norway)
This startup’s visionary approach to the plastic pollution battle stood out from the crowd thanks to its the Aquapod® and Aquadrone, patented technologies to collect plastic waste in urban coastal areas so it does not enter the ocean, .
• Scaleup - ECOCEAN (France)
Ecocean is the company behind Biohut®, an artificial nursery installed in more than 50 harbours and marinas that protects juvenile fish by recreating local food chains and supporting the growth of 500 species.
Professionals will again be at Yacht Club de Monaco on Thursday 26th September for the 28th Captains’ Forum that will focus on yachting’s image.
For those attending the Monaco Yacht Show, visit Stand DS103 to say hello to the BOAT International team.