Investing in a Pollution Free Ocean

The ocean plays a vital role in Earth’s life support system, and its natural assets are indispensable to industries both on land and at sea. A growing cohort of businesses and investors appreciate that their commercial resilience is closely tied to natural capital. At the same time, regulators, investors and consumers are increasingly demanding greater transparency from companies regarding their nature-related impacts, urging them to take active steps to prevent harm. The need for high quality data to assess the private sector’s impact on nature and exposure to financial risks from depleted ecosystems is growing.

Yet a lack of data means that businesses and financial institutions remain largely unaware of their exposure to the physical, transition and systemic risks related to ocean pollution. Data gaps constrain regulators from holding polluters to account. Companies and investors may also miss the benefits of transitioning to a pollution free ocean. This gap presents a critical opportunity to engage with private sector stakeholders, support the integration of ocean pollution considerations into commercial and financial decision-making, and build a robust evidence base to drive action.

Investing in a Pollution Free Ocean is a report by Back to Blue, an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation. The report assesses the current landscape of actions by the business and finance sectors to address ocean pollution while identifying potential opportunities for collaboration as part of the implementation of Back to Blue’s A Global Ocean Free From the Harmful Impacts of Pollution by 2050: Roadmap for Action.

Read the full report and more information about the Back to Blue initiative.