The Clearwater Rating System is a new and unbiased environmental leisure vessel rating system that has been created to provide boat builders with a standardised measure of their environmental credentials.
Run as a not-for-profit basis the scheme aims to fill a recognisable void in available global standards
Any excess income the scheme generates will be donated to the Blue Marine Foundation the charity that works to solve the crisis in the oceans through providing innovative solutions to overfishing and enabling the creation of marine reserves.
The Clearwater Rating system has been researched and created by three highly experienced experts in the field of technical compliance – Alasdair Reay and Maria Garcia-Donaire of HPi Verification Services and Craig Morris of CE Proof.
Shortly the Clearwater Rating team will commence building a board of independent governors for the scheme and will be actively soliciting interest from manufacturers, technical consultants, owners and others around the world to ensure its widest possible use.
Speaking prior to the launch, and just before he embarked on a London to Monaco cycle ride in aid of the Blue Marine Foundation, Alasdair Reay stated: “For some years, Maria, Craig and I have shared a frustration that no objective benchmarks existed for evaluating and grading the environmental footprint of superyachts and leisure vessels.
The Clearwater Rating addresses a need in the leisure marine market for an objective, independent assessment of the environmental credentials of a superyacht or leisure vessel.
The system has been carefully researched to synchronise with environmental legislation and realistically incorporated best practice.
It enables a manufacturer or owner to work though clearly defined steps that examine the impact of a leisure vessel upon air and water quality, energy consumption, noise pollution, seabed, foreshore, wildlife and global resources.
The heart of the system is the Clearwater Rating Calculator, on which you work through a series of logical questions with help screens. When completed, a rating is issued, representing a simply understood measure of the environmental cleanliness of a boat or superyacht.
It’s a similar approach to commonly seen ratings viewed by consumers of electrical domestic equipment, house purchasers and car buyers when making informed decisions about their personal environmental footprint.