Tag: world ocean council

Industry leadership forum on Arctic sustainable development

Collaboration among the diverse ocean business community The World Ocean Council's second "Sustainable Ocean Summit" (SOS) will be held December 3-5 in Washington D.C. to further advance leadership and collaboration among the diverse ocean business community in addressing marine environment and sustainability challenges.The SOS is the only international, cross-sectoral ocean sustainability conference designed by and for the private sector. The 2012 event builds on the highly successful SOS 2010, held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which drew together more than 150 representatives from a wide range of ocean industries."Companies and industry associations around the world are expressing strong interest in coordinated, international business leadership on cross-cutting ocean sustainability issues", stated WOC Executive Director Paul Holthus. He further noted that many companies see the business value of collaboration that helps ensure continued access for responsible use of ocean space and resources.The conference will address priorities for cross-sectoral industry leadership and collaboration in ocean sustainability, including: ocean policy, regulations and governance; marine spatial planning; the role of industries in ocean and climate observations; biofouling, biosecurity and invasive species; fisheries and aquaculture interaction with other industries; cross-sectoral collaboration in responsible use of the Arctic; sound and marine life; port waste reception facilities and marine ...

The "Smart Ocean / Smart Industries" program Leading ocean companies are working to expand and better coordinate the collecting of ocean and atmospheric information from ships and offshore structures through the "Smart Ocean / Smart Industries" program developed by the World Ocean Council (WOC). The UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) is hosting the initial WOC workshop on 12-13 Dec 2011 in Paris.The need to better understand and monitor the ocean and climate has never been greater. Government and scientific institutions have limited facilities and resources to obtain marine and atmospheric data. Shipping, offshore oil and gas and other ocean industries, e.g. ferries, fisheries, offshore wind, aquaculture and others, operate thousands of vessels and platforms.These provide tremendous potential for cost-effectively collecting ocean and climate data. Expanded information will help improve the modeling and predictability of weather, ocean conditions and climate change, and will support responsible use of ocean space and resources - with clear benefits for science, government, society, and business.A WOC Working Group co-chaired by A.P. Moeller-Maersk and Transocean is beginning work to develop a comprehensive structure and process to scale up data collection from "smart" ships and platforms and expand the spatial and temporal extent of observations by leadership ...

Business community initiates leadership and interaction on ocean use The World Ocean Council (WOC) convened the first-ever meeting of ocean industries at the National Business Forum on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), Washington D.C., 13-14 July 2011, to foster, facilitate and plan for cross sector business involvement in the U.S. MSP process. Forum participants included representatives from offshore oil and gas, offshore renewable energy, shipping, fisheries, marine recreation, mining, marine technology, marine law, marine environmental services, and other sectors.The recently initiated MSP agenda pursuant to President Obama's National Ocean Policy is moving rapidly, creating a critical opportunity for the ocean business community to actively engage in a coordinated, multi-sectoral manner. In 2010, the federal government established an interagency National Ocean Council (NOC), and marine spatial plans are to be developed by nine regional planning bodies as early as 2015. The NOC issued a Strategic Action Plan Outline in June 2011 and held by a national workshop soon after to prepare government agencies for the task of developing the government's MSP Strategic Action Plan. Unlike the ocean industry community, the environmental community has had a national MSP coalition for several years and is actively involved in the MSP process.The ocean business community ...

Aims to support global leadership and collaboration on ocean sustainability Maersk Group has joined the World Ocean Council to support global leadership and collaboration on ocean sustainability.Through its signatory to the World Ocean Council, Maersk supports the efforts to promote sustainable development and stewardship through collaboration across private sector industries.The World Ocean Council is the only international organisation bringing together a broad range of ocean industries to address sustainable use of the seas.The oceans are core to our activities in shipping and energy. We are pleased to join this forum which provides an important collaborative platform for sustainable advancement, said John Kornerup Bang, Lead Advisor on Climate & Environment in the A.P. Moller Maersk Group.We are excited to welcome A.P. Moller - Maersk to the growing ocean business alliance on Corporate Ocean Responsibility, said Paul Holthus, Executive Director of WOC. Maersk exemplifies the kind of commitment and leadership that is needed to tackle the complex challenges of ocean sustainability.Maersks environmental strategy pledges to protect the marine environments and biodiversity and reduce the impacts of operations at sea.The marine environment is fragile and we are determined to be good citizens of the worlds oceans. This partnership will help us go beyond ...

Alliance on Corporate Ocean Responsibility Oil and gas industry majors BP and Shell have joined the growing number of leading companies from a range of ocean industries that are distinguishing themselves as members of the World Ocean Council (WOC) - the business leadership alliance on Corporate Ocean Responsibility."We are committed to meeting the world's growing energy needs in economically, environmentally and socially responsible ways," said David Martin, vice president safety, environment and sustainable development for Shell. "As a company with presence in many of the world's major oceans, we look forward to sharing good practices for the responsible and sustainable use of our oceans through this alliance."Dr Liz Rogers, BP Group's VP Environment, Social Responsibility and HSSE Compliance, Safety and Operational Risk, commented that "BP is delighted to be joining WOC to participate in constructive engagement in Ocean Policy and Planning. BP believes that co-operation in marine science is of mutual benefit to all stakeholders and looks forward to playing its role in collaborative stewardship of ocean sustainability.""The WOC continues to grow as an unprecedented international alliance on ocean stewardship," noted WOC Executive Director, Paul Holthus."We are developing and implementing programs to address ocean stewardship challenges and opportunities facing the ...