It beat the shortlisted Flipflopi Project, Fundacion Ecomar, EurILCA Sustainability Program to earn the trophy and $10,000 (£8,300/€9,400) prize to further its sustainability initiatives, with it planning to use the money to develop processes to simplify adoption and increase usage.

Greenboats' design has been shown to lower emissions and increase the lifespan of high-performance racing yachts.

Its FLAX27 Daysailor concept boat uses 80 per cent natural or recycled materials, and it is claimed it has "the potential to completely change the global footprint of sailing".

World Sailing vice-president Philip Baum hailed the impact of Greenboats' work.

"Greenboats represents generational change," the South African official said.

"This initiative has shown that sailing can make great strides in terms of utilising natural fibres over composite materials without losing speed, strength, or style.

"I am really excited about a future where so many young people set about living their lives conscious of the need for positive social impact."

Greenboats founder Friedrich Deimann received the trophy from the 2021 winner the Sail Africa Youth Development Foundation at a ceremony held at the Ocean Race Village in Cape Town.

Deimann expressed his pride at winning the award.

"To win the award is a big honour," he said.

"We are able to replace glass fibres with natural fibres at every level.

"We are building day sailors, pleasure boats, and with the components for racing yachts we can really show the potential of the materials because it has to withstand the toughest conditions.

"This shows there is no limit for the applications."

The Sustainability Award was first presented in 2018, and aims to celebrate the effective delivery of initiatives tied to World Sailing's Sustainability Agenda 2030.