Introducing The Toolbox: Your Organization’s All-In-One Solution for Real Impact
Through conversations with suppliers and business leaders, 11th Hour Racing learned that more and more industry sectors are becoming passionate about driving positive systemic change and are motivated to make a difference. They also uncovered, though, that many feel overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge. Where do you even begin on a journey this significant?
That’s where The Sustainability Toolbox comes in. It is an invaluable free resource created by the community for the community. If you need help building a sustainability strategy and implementing it, The Toolbox has you covered.
Read on to learn more about the resource that is already used by 95 sectors (from education to sport to name a few…) in more than 120 countries.
What is The Toolbox?
The Toolbox is an online portal offering a suite of guides, tools, and templates for creating a sustainability strategy for any organization, no matter the size or industry sector.
But what does this actually mean? A sustainability strategy is a plan a company or organization creates to operate in a way that protects the environment, supports communities, and ensures long-term success. It focuses on using resources wisely, reducing waste, and making choices that are good for people and the planet while still meeting business goals.
Housed within an 8-step process, The Toolbox is designed to help teams and organizations develop a comprehensive sustainability program - from target setting to implementation to final reporting. It’s free and accessible to everyone and created under a license with Creative Commons, whose ethos is “when we share, everyone wins.”
“Our vision for The Toolbox is to continue to expand and provide a sustainability platform aligned with current standards that is accessible to all,” explains The Toolbox’s Co-Founder, Damian Foxall.
“The growth we have witnessed so far has been extremely positive. Now available in five languages, our ambition is to further diversify the range of services provided by The Toolbox to the global community by supporting organizations from any sector on their sustainability journey.”
"Our vision for The Toolbox is to continue to expand and provide a sustainability platform that's accessible to all."
How does it work?
The 8-step process makes it easy to navigate sustainability topics like waste reduction, carbon management, and community engagement. Each step provides detailed guides, templates, and real-world case studies to help users take practical, impactful action.
Isaac Murray, the platform’s community manager, ensures that The Toolbox stays fresh and relevant by continuously engaging with users and updating content. Whether you’re just starting out or refining an existing strategy, The Toolbox offers customizable resources that are free and open to all.
Despite only launching a little over three years ago, organizations around the world are already harnessing the benefits. “The support The Toolbox provides in this essential work has been invaluable,” says BEAT Cycling, a UCI Continental team based in The Netherlands.
“11th Hour Racing’s involvement serves as a model for how more organizations could contribute to sustainability and make a positive impact.”
“The support The Toolbox provides in this essential work has been invaluable."
From conception to reality
But how did this initiative come about, you may ask? And how has it achieved international status with over 600+ members ranging from the Association of National Olympics Committees and World Rugby to the University of Madrid and a local healthcare trust?
The story is surprisingly simple. The Toolbox was born out of necessity back in 2021 as the 11th Hour Racing Team (America’s first winners of The Ocean Race) prepared to embark on their round-the-world sailing journey.
The team’s mission was twofold: to win The Ocean Race 2022-23 and to do so with sustainability at the heart of all operations. With this goal in mind, the team hired two Sustainability Experts, Foxall and Amy Munro. It wasn’t long before, after interacting with thousands of suppliers, the two noticed a pattern.
“It was evident all the team’s suppliers were desperate to implement changes that would make their organizations more sustainable, but very few knew where to start or had the resources to take action,” says Foxall.
“It’s because of the clear vision of 11th Hour Racing that alongside a growing number of contributing experts, we have been able to build The Toolbox platform, a free and accessible resource that is now available in five languages providing support and tools for organizations from diverse industry sectors globally.
“The Toolbox provides the solution to starting and implementing your sustainability journey wherever you are and whatever you do.”
"It was evident all the team’s suppliers were desperate to implement changes that would make their organizations more sustainable."
How can I get involved?
Just follow this link to The Toolbox’s website and begin the simple registration process to create an account. You will then find all the resources you need to begin your sustainability journey, and of course The Toolbox’s friendly team are always available to help.
The possibilities for a better future are endless, so dive in!
Good luck!
Hero image credit: ©AmoryRoss / 11thHourRacing
Never miss a moment
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Jamie Haines, sailor “I grew up on the ocean, and in order to protect it, we need to solve the climate crisis. It all goes hand in hand.”
Ian Walsh, big wave surfer “As athletes, ocean health and sustainability are at the heart of what we do – without the ocean, we wouldn’t be here.”
Steve Benjamin, filmmaker “I really want people to fall in love with the ocean, to appreciate it more, and to try to alter their behavior around it. Everything ends up in the ocean, and it’s such a dumping ground for humanity. My hope is that people see the ocean as a living entity that needs to be protected.”
Amory Ross, storyteller “How can I describe the ocean? The ocean is impossible to describe because it is endless; it is full of life, wonder, and mystery.”
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