Working together to accelerate ocean innovation

Across the globe, companies, entrepreneurs, and investors are stepping up to address the challenges facing the ocean and increasingly realising that what is good for the ocean is good for business.

Richard Branson and Virgin Unite are proud to support the coalition as it joins Ocean Unite in the ocean conservation community – working to scale transformative, positive, purpose-driven action.

“Nature really is the most incredible entrepreneur and innovator. All of us have so much to learn from her if we are going to restore our planet and achieve net zero emissions – which we must do, to build ocean and planetary resilience and to reduce the ever-increasing risks now facing our businesses and our communities,” said Richard Branson.

1000 Ocean Startups will bring together a new global ecosystem of incubators, accelerators, investors, and startups – all in the name of ocean impact. Their objective is to scale at least 1000 transformative startups by the end of the 2030 to restore ocean health and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14.

When it comes to ocean health, inaction is not an option – and we must help the ocean become more resilient to change. According to the coalition: “Addressing immense and urgent ocean challenges requires rapid systemic change. Innovation can help bring such systemic change, by proposing fundamentally more sustainable and efficient ways to produce and consume, by creating transparency and accountability. Innovation can also achieve change swiftly."

Getty Images | Danilovi

The ocean impact ecosystem has already delivered inspiring success stories, from making seafood more sustainable, to reducing plastic pollution, to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. But there’s lots more work to be done and timelines are tight.

The coalition’s platform has now officially launched and they are inviting investors, governments and philanthropists to join them to help finance and scale-up 1000 ocean startups and play a critical role in scaling transformative startups by 2030.

It is time to unleash the power of entrepreneurship and work together to invest in our common future.

Ocean Unite was set up in 2015 by Virgin Unite and a group of key partners, united in commitment to ocean conservation. Ocean Unite is now an independent 501c3 organisation. Through their Ocean Unite Network of global influencers, their aim is to amplify crucial Ocean messages to decision-makers in support of highly protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 and building ocean resilience.