World Ocean Day: From ambition to action in the ocean economy

On World Ocean Day 2026, the world is invited to “Reimagine: Beyond the world we know, a new relationship with our ocean.”

For too long, the ocean has been treated as something distant and separate — out of sight, and mostly out of mind. In reality, it flows through everything we do: the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the climate that makes our lives possible. Reimagining our relationship with the ocean starts with seeing that connection clearly — and acting on it.

This is the shift we have started to see over the past five years. In 2020, the ocean innovation landscape was still emerging — defined by ambition, early solutions, and a need to build awareness and alignment across sectors. Five years later, the picture has changed. By 2025, we see a clear shift from ambition to action: solutions are being deployed, markets are taking shape, and capital is increasingly aligning with science-based, scalable innovation.

Step inside the stories shaping ocean impact

This year’s Impact Report aims to show what impact actually means in the day‑to‑day work of our portfolio companies.

Rather than only presenting portfolio metrics, we take a closer look at our portfolio companies — the challenges they face, the approaches they take, and what drives their work forward. These are the stories of high-growth companies transforming ocean industries and ocean‑linked systems. Through longer features, we learn how our portfolio companies contribute to positive impact, and how they measure it.

Halfway through the Ocean Decade

World Ocean Day 2026 comes as we move through the midpoint of the UN Ocean Decade — a moment to take stock of what has been achieved, and what still needs to change.

Despite the ocean’s importance, SDG 14 remains the least funded of all 17 goals, receiving less than 1% of total SDG‑related finance such as ODA. Yet the ocean economy has doubled in real terms over the past 25 years, growing from an estimated 1.3 trillion dollars in gross value added (GVA) in 1995 to 2.6 trillion dollars in 2020, with projections of around 3.9 trillion dollars by 2030.

The ocean economy is growing quickly, but remains mal‑invested, with much of today’s value driven by legacy, carbon‑heavy industries such as offshore oil and gas and traditional coastal tourism. For investors, the opportunity lies in capturing the market share that will inevitably shift from these sectors into highly efficient, digitized, and regenerative blue solutions.

An invitation on World Ocean Day

Since inception, we have invested in 90 ocean impact companies, and we are proud to showcase them and the impact they create. Our ambition is to accelerate this contribution — in terms of investments, support, and connections — for a sustainable future of the New Blue Economy.

Reimagining a better future is the first step to building it. Our portfolio companies are already working on the next steps, and this year’s Impact Report offers a closer look at how.

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