The International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), European Boating Industry (EBI) and National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) have launched a global questionnaire to assess the recreational marine sector’s readiness for a harmonised Life Cycle Assessment methodology.
The survey supports the organisations’ joint project to develop the first globally aligned environmental assessment framework for recreational boats and yachts. The work builds on EBI’s Blue Boat Horizon project, which produced an industry-first LCA methodology, and aims to create a science-based approach that can be used internationally by boatbuilders up to 24m.
As stakeholder expectations, eco-design requirements and environmental reporting increase, the partners say a common methodology will help improve comparability, transparency and credibility while supporting future regulatory and market readiness.
The questionnaire is seeking input from boatbuilders, suppliers and other industry stakeholders on their current understanding and use of LCA, available organisational resources, barriers to implementation and the support needed to adopt a harmonised methodology.
Broad industry participation
“The success of this project depends on broad industry participation,” said Joe Lynch, ICOMIA chief executive.
“We want to ensure that our collaboration and the methodology reflect the realities of boatbuilders operating in different markets, building different types of craft, and working at different levels of sustainability maturity.”
Lynch said the feedback gathered through the questionnaire would help shape a practical solution for the global recreational marine industry.
The project partners will use the responses to assess LCA awareness, identify adoption barriers, understand training needs, guide tool development and support a credible methodology that can work across different markets and boat categories.
Participating boatbuilders may also be considered for a pilot group to test a trial LCA tool based on BBH Version 1.1.
The planned trials will run from October to December 2026, giving companies the opportunity to test the methodology and provide feedback on usability and functionality.
ICOMIA, EBI and NMMA are encouraging boatbuilders and supply-chain companies to complete the questionnaire by Friday 23 October 2026. Companies wishing to be more involved are asked to contact NMMA in North America, EBI in Europe or ICOMIA in other regions.
The questionnaire can be found here.
