conclusions of the 12^th edition

Companies Must Engage in the Blue Economy With the Support of Science

In this perspective, the mobilisation of the private sector is vital; on the one hand as it is a tremendous breeding ground for jobs, but also because conservation needs to have the support of the means and tools of the private sector.

“National and international laws are not enough to solve the problems of sustainable development, and the ocean component is one of the most complex. The private sector, thanks to the principles of corporate social responsibility, has the capacity to support this paradigm shift.” explained Ricardo Serrão Santos, Portuguese Minister of Maritime Affairs.

To stimulate the engagement of the private sector and bring about a change in approach, we must broaden our perspective and take into account the “ecosystemic services” – non-monetary benefits – of the Ocean and give greater consideration to the long term benefits of a healthy ocean.

Throughout the day the need for players to complement each other in order to successfully protect the Ocean was highlighted again and again: political direction, the regulatory framework and the commitment of private players.
This cooperation must be based on a broad, shared and transparent knowledge of the Ocean. Science must be the link connecting the various actions, bringing together the diagnosis, the political impetus and the operational tools for each player. Science must aim not only to increase knowledge and data ; it must also shed light and provide indicators making it possible to better direct, influence and measure public and private actions.

New Tools for a Truly Sustainable Economy

There is an urgent need to develop a set of tools, decisions and management which will incorporate the major environmental and social goals and take into account the long term.

As to companies, they find it difficult to fix goals which are meaningful. Many of them feel “remote” from the Ocean: what impact can they have? How can they contribute to its protection?

A corner has been turned with corporate social responsibility, but commitment cannot be reduced to a marketing argument, to respond to a “bad conscience”; it must be at the heart of strategy in order to define sustainable development goals.

«“We need leaders in every sector of activity. Even if at first glance these sectors seem to be remote from the ocean, these leaders will chart the course, experiment and generate a cascade effect in the other companies in their supply-chain, their partners and even consumers. Attention to the ocean will be developed step by step”, summed up Robert Calcagno, Chief Executive Officer of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco.

The financial sector can contribute by providing tools to evaluate the future and notably the risks: those that can be the consequences of climate change and the degradation of biodiversity and conversely the way in which nature-based solutions can reduce these risks (e.g. mangrove and coral reef preservation/restoration).
To this end, finance also needs accurate data on the state of the environment, the services rendered by nature today and models for predicting their future development.

“New mechanisms must be created to combine different sources of funding (public, private and philanthropic ) and the benefits which are also different in nature, whether monetisable or not. The Global Fund for Coral Reefs is a good example of this”, said by way of illustration Olivier Wenden, Vice President Chief Executive Officer of the Prince Albert II Foundation.