OCEAN CENTRES
Ocean Centres are multi-stakeholder collaboration platforms that support the transition toward safer and more sustainable ocean economies – growing primarily in the Global South. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, they foster collective dialogue to identify needs, challenges, and solutions that unlock safe blue growth. Building on this, they aim to promote responsible business practices in ocean-based economies and influence the creation of new standards and policies.
Navigating a more sustainable ocean economy requires safety to be embedded in the approach to protect people from harm and ensure that ocean-related infrastructure remains safe and resilient, both now and in the future. Faced with major challenges such as decarbonisation, digitalisation, and biodiversity loss, ocean industries must identify the skills and standards that enable a safe transition to a sustainable future – one that is both people- and nature-positive. Decisions by relevant stakeholders should “put safety at the heart of sustainability”.
Collective action will engage a diverse group of stakeholders, depending on local needs. The private sector, financial institutions, government bodies, NGOs, academic institutions, trade unions, and community-led organisations can work together to identify key safety challenges and drive action aligned with local priorities, backed by robust and credible data and insight.
Beyond fostering in-country coalitions for change, Ocean Centres will facilitate cross-country learning and contribute to multilateral processes and the development of international standards.
Ocean Centres were established through a partnership between the UN Global Compact (UNGC), a leading advocate for sustainability in the private sector, and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a global charity dedicated to engineering a safer world. They are implemented through UNGC Country Networks in seven nations identified by local experts during the project’s scoping phase: Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
