> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://4revs.gitbook.io/handbook/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://4revs.gitbook.io/handbook/chapters/ocean-optimism/global-insights.md). # Global insights The reality of the once majestic blue ocean has turned grim and harrowing in the current times. In the last 20 years, 56% of ocean surfaces around the globe \[16] were noted by scientists to have noticeable color change towards the green spectrum, especially near the equator, due to compounding influences of climate change. Moreover, more than 500 marine locations around the globe have turned into dead zones, the size of which is equal to the United Kingdom’s surface. The starkest example lies in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - a floating, nebulous, stratified trash site double the geographical spread of Texas, where human trash outnumbers marine life by an alarming 6 to 1 ratio.\[17] The UK National Food Strategy Report (2022) further points out that more than 49% of global marine biodiversity has been lost in recent decades, between 1970 - 2012. Unsustainable overfishing practices not only disturb marine equilibrium, but are also reported to be the cause of extinction for more than one-third of all shark, rays and chimeras.\[18] Such fishing activities cover more than 55% of the ocean surface. This is more than four times the area covered by agricultural farms.\[19] With these current figures, the integration of oceanic sustainability in our daily practices has become more than a virtue - it’s a necessity. As industries evolve, the concept of ocean-centric sustainability emerges as a crucial avenue for businesses to not only navigate challenges but most importantly to create opportunities. In this section, we delve into specific questions that bridge the gap between business operations and the well-being of our oceans. These enquiries offer practical insights that help businesses to optimize their supply chains, drive profitability, and harness technology. ## How can businesses optimize supply chain practices to reduce plastic waste and minimize their environmental footprint in support of healthier oceans? In the span of a mere decade, humanity has created more plastic than the entire previous century. It is estimated that by 2050, the very essence of our oceans - fish, will be totally outnumbered by our discarded plastics. The oceans currently carry around 75 to 199 million tons of plastic waste, with 33 billion pounds of plastic waste entering the marine environment every year, killing more than 100 million marine animals.\[20] As this plastic toxic soup remains in the ocean, the plastic material weathers with wind, sun and saltwater, breaking down into smaller macro, micro and nano plastics which leech their chemical components. Plastics in the ocean are also known to bioaccumulate up the food chain (i.e. when eaten by smaller fish and then eaten again by larger mammals like dolphins); adsorb pollutants which make these pieces even more toxic; as well as become floating disease and bacteria vectors. Evaporation off the ocean releases microplastic into the atmosphere\[21], contributing to the crisis of microplastics in global rainwater \[22]. ‘Plasticosis’ is a new disease discovered by the impacts on seabirds when they ingest plastic. ‘Plastistone’ is the name for the new kind of rock made when plastic melts and fuses to other geological features, seen in places like Hawaii. However, amidst these unsettling truths, some rays of hope emerge as businesses and firms pave a way for redemption through optimizing their supply chains. IKEA, the global furniture retailer, has implemented a circular business model to reduce plastic waste in their supply chain and promote sustainability. The company has explored alternative materials for their products. Cotton grown with less water or pesticide, or plastic based on renewable and recycled materials have a lower environmental impact \[23]. IKEA also offers take-back programs where customers can return old furniture for recycling or refurbishment, preventing plastic waste from ending up in landfills or oceans \[24]. IKEA further designs products with disassembly in mind, allowing for easier recycling and materials recovery at the end of their lifecycle. This reduces plastic waste generated from products that are traditionally difficult to recycle. IKEA's case illustrates how optimizing supply chain practices for circularity aligns with ocean sustainability objectives, promotes resource efficiency, and establishes a positive brand image that can drive customer loyalty and profitability. The Bubble Barrier is another example designed to capture plastic waste before it enters the oceans through rivers and waterways. This creative solution leverages the power of bubbles to create a barrier that guides floating plastics towards the water's surface and directs them to collection points where they can be properly managed and disposed of. The bubbles address pollution hotspots and are non-invasive to marine life, as fish can easily swim past them. Companies that are situated along water bodies can strategically install similar technologies at their manufacturing sites to control the flow of plastic downstream. ## How can businesses drive profitability through ocean friendly practices? Who doesn’t love the ocean? In the realm of business, profits and ocean-friendly practices intertwine. Pursuing sustainability enhances brand value, mitigates risks, and fosters consumer loyalty. A Harvard Business Review study found that companies that focus on sustainability showed higher innovation rates that lead to profitability.\[25] Additionally, plastic pollution could result in a loss of $13 billion per year for industries dependent on healthy oceans. \[26] While at first glance business profits and ocean stewardship might appear to be contrasting, a deeper understanding reveals that business prosperity and ocean-friendly practices need not be divergent. In fact, incorporation of small and sustainable actions has a profound positive effect on our oceans. {% embed url="" %} **An example of this can be seen in the case of Patagonia which pioneered a "Worn Wear" initiative through which customers are encouraged to return used apparel in exchange for credit and thus extending the life cycle of their products.** This circular approach not only curbs resource consumption but also cultivates brand loyalty among environmentally conscious consumers. By enhancing product longevity and reducing waste, Patagonia fosters operational efficiency and minimizes costs associated with manufacturing and waste disposal. Possibly not lost on the founders, the largest apparel dump in the world in the Atacama desert in Chile – now visible from space! - one of two countries that comprises the famed, pristine mountainous region of Patagonia \[27]. Although the ‘worn wear’ scheme represents an attempt to minimize waste to landfill; companies are ultimately responsible for their entire value chain. While taking these bold steps in one area, for instance, Patagonia has also been criticized for its labor practices in production \[28], as well as its continued use of plastic fibers in clothing. As businesses contemplate the confluence of profitability and environmental consciousness, society as well as long-term consequences also need to be included. **SafetyNet Technology is another company whose innovation not only protects marine biodiversity but also generates a high revenue and profit for fishers.** It is estimated that more than 1/5th of the global population depends on fish as their primary source of protein. However, around 8-25% of the total catch of fish is discarded each year due to technical inabilities of catching the target species and this wastes more than 20% of the space in vessels. The Food and Agricultural Organization has also estimated that bycatch leads to a loss of around 1.38 billion Euros every year. Fishers often throw this bycatch back into the sea which harms other marine species. To protect the marine lives, there have been several regulations such as the Landing Obligations that require fishers to log every catch, including unwanted species and return with the total catch to land. As a result, their daily allowable quota doesn’t always yield sufficient profit as they cannot sell the total catch. To address this issue, SafetyNet Technologies innovated ‘Pisces,’ which is a circular LED light that can be attached to fishing nets. This has six different colors that are used to attract and repel various species. By using this technology, fishers can catch the desired and targeted species in sufficient amounts while leaving the other species unharmed. This also saves the total fuel, labor as well as time resulting in an increase of 25% in the total revenue. In this manner, the simple switch to a SafetyNet provides a huge boost to commercial fishing industries by shooting up their profits and simultaneously protecting oceanic lives. The principle of Blue Economy, as developed by Zero Emission Research and Initiatives (ZERI) also highlights how sustainable and conscious practices lead to the generation of profits for businesses. This principle focuses on developing solutions that mimic natural ecosystems and their regenerative capabilities and create closed-loop systems that generate multiple benefits, while minimizing waste and negative environmental impacts. The main aspect of ZERI's approach is to integrate different industries and sectors so that waste streams from one process can be transformed into valuable inputs for another. This helps to reduce the need for virgin resources, minimizes ecological footprint, and creates value out of waste. Business models following this approach will thus have a competitive edge by using all the resources to their full potential and generating zero waste. This means that every material from operations generates income in some way or the other and does not merely end up as trash. For example, by using zero-waste principles, instead of discarding fish byproducts like scales, bones, and skins, these can be converted into high value products by the fishing industry. Fish scales, which account for about 4-10% of a fish yield, have the potential for making a natural absorbent material for heavy metals and a coagulant for recovery of proteins and pigments from wastewater. Collagen, which accounts for about 30% of fish processing waste can be turned into biologically active peptides through hydrolysis. This highly sought-after collagen peptide can find a range of uses in the beauty industry, pharmaceutical, food-processing or preservation industries. \[29] ## How can businesses leverage technology to drive sustainable ocean practices? In an era where innovation propels progress, technology plays one of the most significant roles in determining the sustainability and health of our oceans. From Artificial Intelligence (AI) to blockchain, from satellite imaging to sound navigation and ranging, technology has an endless capacity to drive meaningful changes. Technological innovations such as floating barrages and autonomous drones help in ocean cleanup; satellite imageries help to monitor and track ocean temperatures, changes in sea level or the amount of pollution\[30]; AI is trained\[31] to identify illegal dumping; block chain technologies determine seafood supply chains and many more. **With the help of AI, Skylight technology is trying to tackle the problem of illegal fishing.** Their technology is designed to detect vehicles that can avoid detection, known as dark vessels, or identify non-compliant vessel behaviors\[32]. Allen Coral Atlas, with AI, employs high-resolution satellite imagery and in-water validation to create updated coral reef maps. This aids conservationists, researchers, and policymakers by providing real-time insights into their condition and aiding informed decision-making for safeguarding coral reefs. \[33] It seems nearly every day there is a new emergence of ideas for businesses to marry cutting-edge tech with solutions that will rejuvenate our oceans. **Saildrone is a world leader in providing ocean data solutions through autonomous, wind-powered vessels equipped with a suite of sensors and scientific instruments.** These vessels measure parameters such as ocean temperature, salinity, carbon dioxide levels, and marine life activity, and are designed to traverse vast ocean expanses and to collect this crucial ocean data. To date, these floating science collectors have traveled almost 1,000,000 nautical miles and spent about 25,000 days in the waters, providing real-time insights into ocean conditions. Data from their collection vessels is transmitted in real-time via satellite that allows scientists, researchers, and policymakers to access accurate and timely oceanic information. By leveraging the potential of modern technology, Saildrone advances our understanding of ocean dynamics that furthers conservation efforts. As the vehicles are driven by winds and currents, they thus operate with a low carbon footprint and have negligible environmental impacts. Their cost of operation is also considerably less than other traditional approaches. Saildrone exemplifies how technology can serve as a catalyst for sustainable ocean practices and elevate our capacity to protect and preserve the marine ecosystem. \[34] Another similar example, **Ocean Mind, highlights the transformative power of technology to drive sustainable ocean practices, particularly in the management of fisheries.** Ocean Mind utilizes satellite imagery to monitor and track fishing vessels in real-time, on a global scale, covering vast ocean areas that were previously difficult to oversee.\[35] Their algorithm from the satellite data allows them to monitor suspicious behavior and ensure compliance with fishing regulations. This significantly reduces illegal fishing activities and harm caused to fish stock, thereby protecting marine biodiversity. The data obtained through Ocean Mind’s satellite aids relevant authorities to make informed decisions and allocate resources more effectively. It also helps other seafood companies to ensure that their supply chains are not affected by any unsustainable fishing activity.