The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has formally approved ISO/TS 23099, a two-year international standardisation project inspired by and elaborating on the outcomes of the groundbreaking Yacht Environmental Transparency Index (YETI) Joint Industry Project, spearheaded by Water Revolution Foundation (WRF). The Technical Specification (TS) establishes, for the first time, a harmonised and science-based method to assess and compare the environmental performance of large yachts.

National Standardisation Bodies within ISO, including those representing major yacht-building nations Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, have approved ISO/TS 23099, a new Technical Specification developed under ISO Technical Committee 8 (TC8), Subcommittee 12 (SC12) for large yachts. This approval marks a significant step forward in providing the superyacht sector with a science-based method and internationally recognised reference to assess and compare environmental performance of yachts.

ISO/TS 23099 is the first project delivered by the ISO TC8 SC12 Working Group 6 (WG6) on Large Yachts Sustainability & Environment, underscoring the growing commitment of the industry to measurable, transparent, and credible environmental responsibility.

 “ISO is the way to unite cross-industry experts and proactively work together on own standards where international legislative guidance is absent or proves impractical to implement,” states WG6 convenor Robert van Tol. “There is now a yacht-specific method and official reference to be applied for assessing the fleet.”

The Technical Specification is the culmination of a five-year joint industry effort, bringing together leading yacht builders, naval architects, technical experts, research institutes and classification societies. Its objective is to establish a robust and practical methodology to assess and compare the operational environmental performance of yachts over 30 metres in length.

Hanna Dabrowska, Technical Director at Water Revolution Foundation, explains: “The method benchmarks yachts through a fixed median values operational profile that was statistically found of 10 per cent cruising, 34 per cent at anchor and 56 per cent in port, which is fundamentally different from that of commercial shipping. The result is indicated through a score against a reference line of central tendency of scores in different gross tonnage (volume) categories.”

By defining a common framework and consistent assessment approach, ISO/TS 23099 enables objective comparison, supports informed decision-making for both new-build projects and refit scenarios, providing a foundation for continuous improvement across the sector. Importantly, it offers a shared language for environmental performance, helping to align industry efforts and avoid fragmented or proprietary approaches.

Awwal Idris, Environmental Expert at Water Revolution Foundation, adds: “Next to CO₂ equivalent to translate the environmental impact over several indicators into a single score, the TS introduces the more sophisticated EcoPoints, a common factor in life cycle assessment, made up of a combination of various underlying environmental factors, including CO₂ and NOx. This outcome enables users to fully understand the impact, but also to work out different scenarios to improve, both for new-build and refit projects.”

The approval of ISO/TS 23099 represents a critical milestone in the evolution of environmental standards for large yachts and reflects the industry’s collective determination to move from aspiration to measurable action.

Lorenzo Pollicardo, Technical & Environmental Director at Superyacht Builders Association (SYBAss), states: “This approved ISO reference confirms shipyards proactive commitment toward the decarbonization objective and enables further work and validation testing through application and use to make it more robust and widely adopted, setting an instrument useful to also support future yachts tailored emission provisions in the international regulatory framework. This and other future projects under WG6, provide shipyards and other industry stakeholders with practical ways toward more environmentally driven yacht design, construction, and operation.”

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