“Oceans are in transition,” said Dan Vermeer, “We know that both ecosystems and economies are changing faster than ever before.”
This was the framing shared at the start of Duke in DC’s recent briefing for federal policymakers “Oceanpreneurship: Creating a Vibrant Ecosystem to Scale Ocean Innovation.” The conversation was centered around World Ocean Day, Capitol Hill Ocean Week and the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference – all coinciding in June. The panelists discussed the blue innovation landscape and assessed how policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and universities can foster rapid development and large-scale deployment of these exciting solutions.
The ocean economy has long been dominated by large, global companies in traditional industries like oil and gas, shipping and fishing. However, alongside these incumbent industries, there is a rapidly evolving ecosystem of startups using innovative technologies and business models to solve ocean problems, and sustainably use ocean resources to address global challenges.
Vermeer, executive director of EDGE (Energy, Development, and the Global Environment) and associate professor of the practice at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, went on to note in his opening remarks, “The nature of innovation and entrepreneurship is changing as we speak,” said Vermeer. The blue economy covers a large swath of business – energy, food, tourism, biotech, fashion and coastal resilience – however, they are all connected by the ocean.
After attending a United Nations conference as a college student, Daniela Fernandez, founder and CEO of Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA), saw a clear need for a centralized platform that provided “intersectoral and intergenerational collaboration,” to solve pressing oceanic problems. “The maritime industry has been around for a really long time,” said Fernandez, “what is new is the fact that we are taking the approach of regenerating and sustaining the ocean.”
Fernandez explained SOA’s goal is to help accelerate “ocean positive” startups that aim to make a positive impact on the ocean. She explained that from wave-generated energy to ocean floor mapping, “we all have the same purpose.” One company that embodies this mission is Algiknit, a startup that focuses on producing seaweed-based sustainable textiles.
Aleksandra Gosiewski, another panelist and co-founder and COO of Algiknit, drew upon her experience in the fashion industry to identify a more sustainable fabric solution. Algiknit is a startup that focuses on producing seaweed-based sustainable textiles. Gosiewski said that early on, “there’s clearly a need for more sustainable materials,” and companies that have set sustainability targets are looking for novel solutions. However, it is an early industry, with risk involved and specifically “when it comes to grants, they are also few and far between because it is a new space.”
Mark Huang, co-founder and managing director of SeaAhead, discussed some of the issues currently facing the ocean and what policy and industry interventions are promising.
“The policy we all know is hard,” but Huang noted that a ray of hope is the “changing is the power of the consumer and the public.” He observed that as consumers are starting to use their pocketbooks to drive change, we will begin to move the needle faster.
Several panelists underscored the increasing urgency for both government and industry to act, develop frameworks and rapidly develop solutions to avoid more entrenched issues related to climate change. “You can’t improve what you can’t measure,” said Alexis Grosskopf, founder and CEO of OceanHub Africa, “we need to have a better understanding of what’s happening in the ocean.” Grosskopf added that all sectors need to get involved to better manage the ocean and design solutions.
Among her recommendations to Congress, Fernandez outlined a need for more government funding and additional permitting for companies that enter the ocean space. She also called for policymakers to direct their focus to short-term targets rather than loftier environmental goals over the next several decades. “The reality for all of us is that we are the last generation that can do something significant to change the trajectory we are on.”
“This is our responsibility,” said Fernandez, “and this is our problem, and we need to link arms and work together on this as a collective because we don’t have another choice.”
Posted on 6/29 by Lizzie Devitt