THE WORLD YACHTING SUSTAINABILITY FORUM SHIFTS THE SPOTLIGHT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS AS THE BOATING INDUSTRY CHARTS ITS FUTURE COURSE
Genoa, 19th September 2025 – Sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness are today’s three defining areas in which the business world is currently called upon to provide tangible solutions. The boating industry has been moving in this direction for years, and the numerous events that animated the second day of the 65th Genoa International Boat Show are a perfect insight.
The fourth edition of the World Yachting Sustainability Forum brought together decision-makers and industry leaders in the Forum Hall to demonstrate to international audiences how sustainability is transforming the boating industry.
With over 120 delegates present in the hall, sustainability became the focal point of a lively programme that combined exclusive insights from the European Commission, new consumer research, and an industry debate on the future of boating.
The Forum kicked off with an opening address by IBI Director Ed Slack, joined by Fincantieri’s Marco Cappeddu, the Italian Marine Industry Association’s ESG representative, who introduced the session dedicated to the most relevant challenges and opportunities for the sector.
The opening session, entitled “The European Ocean Pact and Its Impact on the Boatbuilding Sector”, brought together top representatives of the European Commission, including Massimo Pronio, Head of Communication in Italy, and Karin Aschberger, Deputy Director of the Oceans and Water Unit at the Joint Research Centre. With them Philip Easthill, Secretary General of the European Boating Industry, to illustrate the Commission’s new strategy and its possible implications for pleasure boating.
During an animated effective discussion, the panel illustrated the six pillars that define the Pact: from protecting and restoring the health of the oceans to strengthening the competitiveness of Europe’s sustainable blue economy, from consolidating ocean diplomacy to advancing research, innovation and skills. The message for boating was clear: the industry must take a step forward and make itself heard as its own autonomous sector as Europe defines its blue economy, no longer a mere appendage of tourism or shipbuilding industries.
The discourse then shifted from policies to boaters with the report by Filippo Gozzi of McKinsey & Company. Gozzi presented data showing how boat buyers are reshaping the market: sustainability, from a niche theme, has become mainstream, with 79% of consumers actively seeking responsible products and services. Younger customers, in particular, are driving the change: the average age of owners is dropping from 55-65 to 45-55, and these new owners are putting sustainability at the heart of their purchasing decisions.
While they are willing to pay more for greener solutions, Gozzi pointed out, the value must be clear. Millennials, for example, show the greatest interest in boats with alternative fuels, but consumer education remains key. By highlighting reduced operating costs and improved long-term efficiency, the industry can justify higher initial prices and present sustainability not just as a moral imperative, but as a reasonable investment.
The central moment of the Forum was the panel “Navigating Sustainability: Redesigning Boating for the Consumer, the Industry, and the Planet”, moderated by Ed Slack. Industry leaders – Giordano Pellacano (Ferretti Group), Erik Stromberg (Beneteau), Romain Motteau (Fountaine Pajot), Alessandro Rossi (Azimut|Benetti) and designer Dan Lenard – offered various reflections on where the boating industry is today and where it should be heading.
Several themes emerged. Customer attitudes are changing, but only some are willing to accept higher prices or lower volumes on board for more sustainable boats. Stromberg noted that internal industry data show a mismatch between installed equipment and actual use, suggesting that simpler, lighter and more efficient designs could better meet environmental needs and consumer expectations together.
In a provocative speech, Lenard called for a radical rethinking of the image of boating: the “bigger, faster, heavier” paradigm that has dominated since the 1990s must be abandoned. Streamlined, narrower hulls with smaller engines could redefine sustainability as something aspirational for the next generation of boat owners.
The speakers also addressed the economic realities. While new buyers may accept a premium of 10-15% for sustainability, the extra costs of greener propulsion and solutions now reach 40-50%. Bridging this gap remains a challenge. However, synergy is underway, recalled Romain Motteau (Fountaine Pajot), with companies exploring shared sustainability benchmarks to help customers make an informed choice and understand the long-term benefits of greener boats.
Despite the challenges, optimism is widespread. Regulation, consumer demand and industry innovation are converging to accelerate change. As Pellacano pointed out, these pressures are not a burden, but a catalyst that can stimulate creativity and solutions that will strengthen the industry. Stromberg added that, compared to a few years ago, discussions on sustainability are now supported by real projects and hard data, marking a significant advance.
From the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans to the close discussion between industry leaders, the Forum highlighted how sustainability is no longer optional. It is the lens through which the future of boating will be built.
The morning continued with the conference “The competitiveness of the Italian flag – The future of the market between new regulations and new opportunities”, organised by TopLegal in cooperation with the Italian Marine Industry Association.
The competitiveness of the Italian flag is a crucial issue for maritime policies: it concerns merchant shipping, passenger and cruise traffic, and even recreational boating. A strategic pivot on which the future of Italian seafaring is at stake, and on which the commitment of public institutions and the entire supply chain is strong.
The event opened with an opening address by Marco Monsurrò, Vice-President of the Italian Marine Industry Association, with an introductory focus on the unattractiveness of the national flag and its repercussions for the country system.
The first roundtable – Regulations on a collision course – explored the issue of Italian and European boatbuilding, which suffers from a fragmented and often inconsistent regulatory framework that fuels legal uncertainty. The new environmental provisions – if not harmonised – risk encouraging relocation to countries with less stringent rules (carbon leakage) and producing competitive disparities between companies within the EU. In the yachting sector, following flag-out phenomena, chartering is reducing the number of stopovers in Italy due to asphyxiating bureaucracy and the reiteration of police checks.
Speakers included Chiara Todini (Founding Partner, Salvini e Soci – ETS and carbon credit), Enrico Napoletano (Founding Partner, Studio Napoletano – Environmental law), Marco Cappeddu (Italian Marine Industry Association ESG Committee; ESG Manager, European Union Office – Fincantieri), Simone Parizzi (Head of Naval Technology, Maritime Safety and Environment – Assarmatori).
The second roundtable, focused on “The competitiveness of the Italian flag and how to reclaim it” saw an operational discussion on regulatory levers, simplifications, register attractiveness and incentive systems to bring fleets and traffic back under the Italian flag, strengthening the cluster’s ability to generate value, employment and investment.
Speakers included Fulvio Luise (Partner Manager, Luise Group), Domenico Ardolino (Partner, d’Aniello & Associati), Massimiliano Musi (Of Counsel, Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati).
The conference came to a close with a panel entitled “Claims, insurance coverage and the unknown quantity of sanctions”, which dealt with the management of maritime claims and how this is complicated by articulated procedural processes, stringent obligations and regulations that are not always coordinated. Within this context, the central role of the lawyer and the role of insurance companies are growing in importance: from timely reporting to out-of-court management and litigation, and the impact of the sanctions regime (also in the yacht sector).
Speakers on the topic were Georgia Agu (General Counsel, Azimut|Benetti), Flavia Melillo (Officer in charge of Marine & Aviation, ANIA – Associazione Nazionale fra le Imprese Assicuratrici), Francesco Gasparini (Partner, Studio Legale Mordiglia – marine claims, yacht sanctions), Alessandro Stabile (Avvocato cassazionista; Managing Partner, SLS – Studio Legale Stabile).
In the morning, the Eberhard & Co. Theatre hosted the presentation of CORE, the cross-border project joining Italy and France to support small-scale fishing in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea. Presented by the Chamber of Commerce of Genoa and financed with €1.5 million from the Interreg Italy-France Maritime Programme 2021-2027, the project involves 5 Italian partners. The initiative aims to create a shared fisheries management model, develop advanced training for operators and attract young people to the sector.
Following this, the Genoa City Council presented the sports policies for the five-year period 2025 – 2030 and the Italy-Samoa Test-match that will be hosted at the “Luigi Ferraris” Stadium in Genoa on Saturday 22nd November, when the Italian team will conclude the international window of the Quilter Nations Series by challenging the Samoa Islands on the Ligurian capital’s turf.
