Volvo Ocean Race CEO Mark Turner explained the three pillars of Volvo Ocean Race's strategy

The Volvo Ocean Race has presented an important sustainability programme that will start in this edition of 2017- 18 and will continue in the future, for which it has signed alliances with 11th Hour Racing, AkzoNobel and United Nations Environment while developing a series of commitments focused on ocean health. The race has set sustainability in its DNA, for which it will take steps to support the 'Turn the Tide on Plastic' campaign. There is a serious problem with the rapid growth of the ocean-polluting plastic, which is already being fought by the Clean Seas (clean seas) United Nations Environment campaign, which has been adopted by the Volvo Ocean Race. There are three key pillars in the Volvo Ocean Race sustainability strategy:

• Minimize the race's footprint by placing a special impact on the reduction and, as far as possible, the elimination of the use of non-reusable plastic by both the equipment and the headquarters cities, a difficult task, but that will help change the behavior on this matter by drawing attention to it.
• Maximize the impact of the race using its global communication platform to raise awareness, an educational program to change opinions and a scientific program, using the Volvo Ocean 65 ships to collect data at sea and contribute to our understanding of the oceans in the most remote areas of the planet.
• Leave a positive legacy in all the places it passes through many actions, but in particular the creation of Ocean Summits to bring together science, government, sport and business in order to get all parties to establish new positive actions in this regard.
• The three agreements, announced in Gothenburg on Thursday during an important presentation on the future of the race, represent a significant extension of the race's efforts in this field.

Mark Turner is clear in supporting the agreement of the three sponsors that will enhance the sustainability of the Volvo Ocean Race: 11th Hour Racing, AkzoNobel and United Nations Environment: "First, we have to minimize our own impact on all our operations. We are specifically trying to reduce, or eliminate where we can, the single-use plastics in our Race Vilages and in our own operations because that problem is in itself one of the main problems for the well-being of our oceans... secondly, we are using our global communication platform to change the views of other people and their behaviour in this respect... and, thirdly, our goal is to leave a legacy; we are going to twelve host cities and in each one of them we have the ability to impact, influence, change opinions and get new commitments from governments and businesses while we are there... we will use a series of ocean summits to bring about the way, and that they are engaged in the science, and that they are doing so, that they are doing the politics, and that they are doing so."