Business leaders for strengthening global cooperation to sustainably use ocean

Over 80 businesses and supporting organizations from 25 countries, representing a combined turnover exceeding €600 billion and employing 2 million people, have launched a joint ‘Business Call to Action’ urging both private and public decision-makers to enhance global cooperation and accelerate efforts to conserve and sustainably utilize the ocean.

This unprecedented coalition of business networks, supported by 80 signatory businesses, has convened the call. It builds upon the expertise of leading businesses and organizations already advancing a sustainable blue economy, anticipating the upcoming 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France. The initiative underscores the inherent link between terrestrial and marine environments, highlighting their contributions and interdependencies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The call is directed at all economic actors, regardless of their direct or indirect connection to the ocean. It includes:

• A Call to Action for Businesses: To expedite the maintenance of ocean health through actions such as contributing to ocean science, monitoring and reducing environmental impacts, integrating ocean considerations into their climate and nature roadmaps, and investing in blue solutions.
• A Call to Action for Policymakers: To pursue ambitious, science-driven policies and measures that stimulate sustainable business action and to jointly address land and ocean for enhanced global resilience.

Through this ‘Business Call to Action,’ companies and business networks are urging policymakers to:

• Agree to adopt and implement international agreements: Champion strong, sustainable outcomes for existing and upcoming ocean-related agreements.
• Invest in ocean science and support strong science-policy interfaces.
• Acknowledge and embed into policies the links between ocean, nature, and climate.
• Help all actors to collectively adapt to sea-level rise.
• Develop robust and innovative finance mechanisms.
• Raise awareness to encourage all actors to care for the ocean, even those based on land.

The ‘Business Call to Action’ is convened by prominent global business networks, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Economic Forum (WEF), We Mean Business Coalition (WMB), Business for Nature (BfN), Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), UN Global Compact Network France, and Association française des Entreprises pour l’ Environnement (EpE).