On Tuesday, July 12, at the Glocal Experience event, there was a lively panel discussion that answered the question: “How can companies help the oceans?” The event, held at Glória Marina in Rio de Janeiro, debated sustainability and environmental measures, bringing together people engaged in the fight to protect and conserve the seas. The participants talked about the blue economy, anti-pollution measures, mangrove restoration and companies’ active role in promoting a healthy and balanced marine environment.

The panel discussion in the marina’s “Dialogue Arena” venue featured Flavio Andrade, the CEO of OceanPact; Ricardo Gomes, the director of the Urban Sea Institute; Gabriela Otero, the coordinator of Blue Keepers; Pedro Belga, the founder of NGO Guardians of the Sea; and Fernando Borensztein, OceanPact’s new business and sustainability director.

The meeting’s moderator, Fernando Borensztein, stressed the importance of preserving the oceans and noted that everyone can contribute: governments through with their policies, people through their decisions and companies through their local actions. “We understand that everyone has a part to play. OceanPact is supporting a series of initiatives, including the planting of 30,000 mangrove seedlings in the Guapimirim Environmental Protection Area in Guanabara Bay and several Urban Sea Institute projects,” he said. One of these projects, a documentary called “Rays of Guanabara Bay,” is being shown at the OceanPact booth at Glocal Experience.

“Collaboration between the private sector, government, universities, NGOs and people will allow us to execute and implement important projects, such as the Global Compact’s Blue Keepers initiative, and to draw up a plan to solve the ocean plastic pollution problem,” said Flavio Andrade. He explained that OceanPact is involved in various activities together with its clients in the ocean, ensuring their protection. “As well as supporting our clients with their offshore operations, studies, monitoring and environmental protection, we also run our own projects, such as this program,” he said.

During the panel discussion, Ricardo Gomes emphasized companies’ fundamental role in the transition to a more sustainable world. “We are going through a moment in which many countries are taking a step back on the environmental agenda and companies cannot stand idly by when it comes to ocean recovery. According to a study, if the planet’s 10 biggest companies donated 1% of their net profits to mangrove recovery initiatives, we could restore 1 million hectares in a single year. That is equivalent to the area of mangroves we have lost in the last 20 years. OceanPact is at the forefront of this movement to save the oceans,” the Urban Sea Institute’s director said.