Ocean Impact Organisation (OIO) this week launched The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2021, a six week global initiative to find, support and accelerate innovative solutions that can transform the health of the ocean. Applications are open until 21 September 2021 with the Winners announced on 4 November 2021.

With $150,000 in cash prizes and $150,000 of additional products and support from OIO and their partners, startups and entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply for the chance to accelerate their ocean impact and help to improve the health of Planet Ocean. This year also sees the debut of the HP Generation Impact Incubator, a new program for young (35 and under) innovators residing in Australia with an idea to transform ocean health.

Coinciding with the launch of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2021, OIO are pleased to announce a new Major Partnership with HP Australia.

HP will join Ocean Impact Organisation as our Major Technology Partner and the co-Presenting Partner of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2021 alongside Bank Australia.

The team at OIO are thrilled to have the support of HP as we pursue our purpose to transform ocean health through inspiration, innovation and good business.

We’re very excited to announce a new Major Partnership with Bank Australia! The Major Partnership will support OIO’s annual innovation programs including the very successful Ocean Impact Pitchfest we are proud to be launching again in August 2021. See how you can pre-register for Pitchfest 2021 below.

The Major Partnership continues Bank Australia’s strong support of Ocean Impact Organisation that commenced with them being the Presenting Partner of our inaugural Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2020.

Kirstin Hunter (co-founder, ex CEO of Future Super) and Professor Peter Steinberg (Founding Director and ex CEO of Sydney Institute of Marine Science - SIMS) have been announced as new Directors of Sydney based Ocean Impact Organisation (OIO).

The announcement was made at a special Earth Day gathering of OIO supporters at Manly’s Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve attended by Federal Independent Member for Warringah Zali Steggal and State Member for Manly James Griffin.

Traditional visual representations of our global ocean fail to accurately depict it’s true integrity. As our relationship with the ocean evolves, properly advocating for and protecting it demands a collective shift in how we imagine it.

Covering over two-thirds of our terraqueous Earth, the ocean is the planet’s largest ecosystem. This body of water provides us with the oxygen we breathe, regulates our climate, fuels the water cycle, and supplies nourishment and sustenance for billions of people.

Taking out Pitchfest’s top spot and the $15,000 cash prize from Bank Australia was Planet Protector Packaging, an Australian-based business using waste from the wool industry to create insulation that replaces polluting polystyrene (EPS). Their thermal packaging solutions are currently being used for a range of products from varying industries, including cooked meals, fine wines, seafood transportation and pharmaceuticals. 

Incredibly, Planet Protector Packaging has posted $14 million in revenue since launching, growing entirely without the aid of external investment. Chiarelli says this is in part due to polystyrene waste being “a very clear, well-understood problem”, while their wool-based insulation offers a simple solution and viable alternative.  

On December 2nd The High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) released the ‘Transformations for a Sustainable Ocean Economy: A vision for Protection, Production and Prosperity’ Report. The report was launched on December 2nd, coinciding with national launch events held by Ocean Panel member states across the globe.

The Ocean Panel is made up of leaders from 14 countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Norway, Palau and Portugal. Combined, they make up 40% of the world’s coastlines, 30% of offshore exclusive economic zones, 20% of the world’s fisheries and 20% of the world’s shipping fleet.

After a lengthy selection process, the Winner and two Runners Up of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2020 were announced today.

An external panel of experts judged the top three places from twelve Finalists, who were shortlisted from almost 200 applications from 38 countries.

In a boost to Ocean Impact Organisation and the reputation of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2020 the Winner’s announcement was made by globally renowned conservationist and ‘ocean elder’ Dr Sylvia Earle who made the announcement via a pre-recorded Zoom message saying, “We are beginning to see, maybe for the first time, how important the ocean is to every breath we take and every drop of water we drink and that what we do to the ocean is not just having an impact on our health, it’s also having an impact on the economy.”

After a six-week application period and a two-week shortlisting process, the Finalists of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2020 were revealed today. The twelve finalists were shortlisted from almost 200 applications received from 38 countries, with nearly 50% of the applications coming from Australia.

The Finalists are (in alphabetical order): ARC Marine (UK), Coral Vita (The Bahamas), ECOncrete Tech (Israel), Ingine (South Korea), Orbital EOS (Spain), Planet Protector Packaging (Australia), PumpFree Energy (Australia), SafetyNet Technologies (UK), SharkSafe Barrier (South Africa), Urchinomics (The Netherlands), Water Warriors (USA), and Wave Swell Energy (Australia).

Ocean Impact Organisation launched in February as a service to help people start, grow and invest in businesses that positively impact the ocean. It’s Australia’s first ocean impact ecosystem and startup accelerator for businesses and entrepreneurs looking to make a positive impact on the ocean and harness the untapped business potential of this landscape. “In terms of what is sort of defined by “ocean impact”, it’s an emerging terminology which essentially says that we live on planet ocean, it’s governed by the sea whether we like it or not,” Silverwood explains. “So, we are looking at all the challenges the ocean faces [divided] into six key themes.”

The award-winning My Octopus Teacher is one of the most heartwarming documentaries released in a while. The film, which premiered on Netflix on September 7th, follows film maker and free diver Craig Foster who had spent the last decade diving off the rocky coastline of Cape Town, known for its extremely cold water and rough conditions. The kelp forest where the story takes place is a clear and still patch in the midst of a chaotic coast, rich in biodiversity in what is essentially Foster’s backyard. One day, he meets an octopus as he is exploring the kelp forest, and driven by a playful but serious curiosity he builds trust with the young octopus that allows him to bear witness to most of her short life and find unexpected meaning in his own.

With the vast array of complex problems facing Planet Ocean it can often feel like one person’s efforts to help are a proverbial drop in the ocean.

When facing the enormous statistics about the amount of plastic pollution entering the ocean every day, week, month and year you could be forgiven for wanting to throw hands in the air and ‘give up’.

As the Covid-19 crisis continues to disrupt our everyday lives, discussions are underway about what our economic path forward could look like. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen drastic policy changes swiftly enacted in what has been praised as a ‘non-political’ approach - an effort to adjust to evolving circumstances based on scientific evidence.

However, when it comes to the discussion of Australia’s COVID-19 economic recovery plan, there is an increasingly polarised perspective on what the future should hold.

We are one week into the six-week application window for The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2020 and all we can say is “Wow!” We have been thrilled to receive strong applications from around the world addressing a diverse range of ocean challenges and opportunities.

If you are passionate about the work of Ocean Impact Organisation we encourage you to share a post or information about Pitchfest with your community so more people know of the opportunity. A simple action you can take right now is to share one of our posts on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

We are pleased to announce that Richard Leck is part of the esteemed judging panel who will help select the Runners Up and Winner of The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2020. We are proud to have WWF Australia as a partner for Pitchfest 2020 and to have Richard’s skills and insights on the judging panel.

Today we are proud to launch The Ocean Impact Pitchfest 2020, our inaugural campaign calling for applications from startups and businesses helping to create an abundant and sustainable ocean.

Are you working on a great idea to help Planet Ocean? Apply now to amplify your impact and take your great idea to the world!

Applications are open from Tuesday 25th August 2020 and will close on Monday 5th October 2020.

Grassroots activism is all about the power of the people - the ability to harness local collective action at the regional, national and international level - and effect meaningful change from the bottom up. The culture of environmental activism in Australia in general is relatively young in comparison with other developed nations, but since climate change and environmental conservation entered the political discourse, it quickly deepened its roots.

What can we learn from bold ocean adventurers and athletes to help us navigate our own everyday struggles and achieve our goals? How can those of us with a burning passion to ‘do more’ to help Planet Ocean or devote our careers to making a positive impact learn from those that have stared down and resolved their own fears and anxieties?

That Planet Ocean needs us to radically transform the way we do things is irrefutable. At Ocean Impact Organisation, we believe that there’s no better way to create change than with a new generation of visionary leaders and doers who can rewrite the narrative and repair the wrongs of our past.

Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Outlaw Ocean, award winning investigative journalist, previous Ocean Impact Podcast guest and newly announced Storytelling Fellow with National Geographic, Ian Urbina, has published a gripping new investigation that highlights the dire human impacts of resource conflict and climate-driven biodiversity loss in the Sea of Japan - a highly contested area of ocean surrounded by the Koreas, Japan and Russia.