Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) activates young people, develops and implements innovative solutions, and mobilizes an ocean workforce to restore the health of the ocean in our lifetime.
Since founded by Daniela Fernandez in 2014, SOA has built the world’s largest network of young ocean leaders and supported innovative startups, nonprofits, and grassroots campaigns dedicated to solving the greatest threats facing our planet.
Two years ago at the World Economic Forum, we shared our vision with the world, and Salesforce Chair and Co-CEO Marc Benioff challenged us to accelerate 100 solutions by 2021.
Today, SOA is proud to announce that as of 2021, we have more than doubled our initial goal: we have accelerated 222 startups, nonprofits, and grassroots initiatives all over the world, each dedicated to restoring and sustaining the health of our ocean.
The Ocean Solutions Accelerator helps entrepreneurs launch for-profit ocean solutions for a sustainable blue economy by providing funding, mentorship, and other critical resources to scale their ventures and amplify their impact.
The Ocean Leadership Program (OLP) holistically supports over 6,000 global participants with the resources and networks they need to build ocean-healing solutions and to reach their full potential as ocean leaders. The OLP awards Microgrants of up to $15,000 USD to outstanding youth leaders to execute and scale their projects, and provides 72 youth-led Hubs with leadership and programmatic support.
Together, these 222 solutions for ocean restoration have touched tens of thousands of lives, restored critical marine ecosystems worldwide, invented sustainable alternatives to plastics, pioneered cutting-edge technology to illuminate the mysteries of our deepest seas and much, much more.
Each startup, nonprofit, and grassroots initiative has focused its efforts across five key areas of ocean health impact.
Learn more, and explore all 222 solutions below.
IMPACT:
15,540 metric tons of CO2 reduced, avoided, or sequestered
The fight to address climate change cannot be separated from the drive to support solutions that address carbon removal and blue carbon ecosystem development. In 2020, 31.5 gigatons of carbon (CO2) were emitted globally, with 83% of the carbon cycle circulating through the ocean. Certain marine and coastal ecosystems—like tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrass meadows—play a critical role in this cycle by sequestering and storing what’s then known as “blue carbon.”
These ecosystems are critical to climate change mitigation. Mangroves and salt marshes, for example, remove carbon from the atmosphere at a rate 10 times greater and store five times more carbon per acre than tropical forests.
IMPACT:
1,755 metric tons of solid waste removed, upcycled, or avoided
Each year, only 9% of plastic produced ends up recycled—which results in 10 million tons of plastic dumped into our oceans every year. That’s nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. These pollutants are responsible for choking marine life, destroying both marine and coastal ecosystems, and polluting our own food sources.
Today, the average person ingests over 70,000 microplastics each year (that’s 100 pieces over the course of a single meal). The solutions in this category work to reduce and eliminate items like single-use plastics. Their work in turn helps to build the circular economy, which promotes the extension of product lifecycles and aims to decrease solid waste and pollution.
IMPACT:
89,128 square meters of blue carbon ecosystems protected or restored
In addition to sustaining marine life and the communities that depend on it, coastal ecosystems account for approximately half of the total carbon sequestered in ocean sediments. These may include coral reefs, mangrove forests, kelp forests, wetlands, and seagrass beds. Together, they serve as nurseries for marine organisms and as critical areas of blue carbon capture.
However, many marine ecosystems are experiencing degradation and destruction by human activities, which not only leads to species depletion, but also releases the critically stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
Solutions in this category have monitored 150,000 kilometers of coastline for climate change adaptation planning, detected 67,000 whales to avoid marine collisions, produced 150+ ocean literacy reports and media projects, hosted 260 events with more than 30,000 youth participants, and much more.
More than 80% of our ocean is unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored. In the United States, only 35% of the ocean and coastal waters have been mapped with modern methods. In order to inform policy decisions that ensure marine and coastal ecosystem sustainability—and to empower humans worldwide to take local action to save the ocean—we need reliable data sources, mapping, and consistent analysis.
Some projects in the category of ocean literacy, data, and research focus on data collection and analysis, while other initiatives are dedicated to fostering knowledge-sharing and creating local opportunities for action. All play critical roles in leveraging knowledge and technical skills to catalyze lasting ocean impact.
Every year, 30% of commercial fish stocks are overfished, while harmful fishing practices cause over 38 million tons of bycatch (the incidental capture of a non-target species). As a result, this institutionalized overfishing has contributed to a marked decrease in recorded marine species over the last 40 years.
Sustainable protein, fisheries, and aquaculture solutions address the challenge of sustainably feeding the world's growing human population without the continued exploitation of marine habitats and species.
SOA’s solutions in this area are varied, with many developing new, innovative systems of impact tracking. One Microgrant project is developing a supply chain around selling “gourmet” sea urchins in order to quell California’s invasive purple sea urchin population explosion. Another is piloting a CSA-style delivery service in the Philippines to support seasonal, sustainably caught seafood. Our Accelerator alumni are hard at work in this area as well, developing plant-based alternatives to seafood (think kelp burgers, kelp jerky, and cell-cultured tuna), net sensors to reduce bycatch, deepwater solar irrigation for seaweed farming, and more.
Microgrant
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Indonesia
Pollution Reduction & the Circular Economy
Dicky Alfandy
This project aims to reduce the use of plastic sachets in Pasaran, a small island in Indonesia, and will do so by empowering mothers to take part in eco-preneurship projects. They will first collect data on waste and plastic bag usage by households on the island as well as in local shops, and then choose 30 mothers on the island to participate in workshops on upcycling and initiating refill stations with local shops.
LEARN MOREMicrogrant
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Uganda
Pollution Reduction & the Circular Economy
Johnmary Kavuma
Upcycle Africa educates communities on the threats plastic poses to our planet, and endeavours to change mindsets about plastic waste. With our waste collection program, we also collect plastic waste from beaches, streets and bus stations and train local community members on how to turn "waste" into upcycled products.
LEARN MOREMicrogrant
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India
Pollution Reduction & the Circular Economy
Kristin Kagetsu
With support from SOA, Saathi will do a thorough assessment of the positive environmental impact of their product in terms of plastic and C02 pollution avoided due to the production of their plastic-free feminine hygiene products. Their business model has a positive impact at every part of our supply chain, providing income to farmers who produce the materials, employ an all-female manufacturing staff, and sell pads to women typically residing in underserved urban areas.
LEARN MOREMicrogrant
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Philippines
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Bryan Madera
A-B-Seas is a two-day experiential learning camp for children and teens to nurture interest in marine life and inspire pro-environmental behavior. This program introduces participants to basic concepts in marine ecology, conservation, and leadership, with special attention to the different roles and responsibilities humans have.
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Startup
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United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Ellie Mackay
Ellipsis Earth scans rivers and coastlines with drones, processes these images with a uniquely-trained algorithm to create detailed heatmaps of hotspots, and advises partners on the best approaches to tackle each pollution challenge.
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Startup
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France
Pollution Reduction & the Circular Economy
Marion Padioleau
Blue Innov is a french company dedicated to the development of environmentally friendly innovations in the nautical sector. Their first implemaentation is an ocean-friendly antifouling innovation created by the dutch researcher Rik Breur.
LEARN MOREMicrogrant
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Indonesia
Pollution Reduction & the Circular Economy
Zulkhaidir Purwanto
WastEducation is a Circularity Certification initiative organizing a Circularity Task Force inviting representatives to collaboratively develop a: 1) Circularity certification criteria for SMEs in Makassar to validate, and 2) Guidebook to help other cities in Indonesia develop their own affordable certification. As part of this project, they worked with Octopus Indonesia, a company that uses an app to facilitate the collection of recyclables.
LEARN MOREMicrogrant
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USA
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Alexandra Doudera
Saltwater Classroom is a nonprofit that runs weeklong workshops focused on ocean science and conservation for young students. Through SOA support, Saltwater Classroom has pivoted our in-person programming to the virtual world, creating a unique opportunity for students across the world to connect with one another and learn from ocean experts. In November, Saltwater Classroom ran a three week virtual workshop that featured live sessions, encouraged hands-on activities, and fostered creative inquiry amongst its participants.
LEARN MOREMicrogrant
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Honduras
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Timna Varela
Green School, Blue Future Curriculum is an ocean literacy project that intends to be the first officially accredited Environmental Education Program within the Bay Islands, implementing it in Punta Gorda, Honduras. The program will target environmental issues within a fishing community that deters efforts towards marine conservation, and it will develop an engaging culture of conservation within the school community.
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