Deadline: January 15, 2020.

The blue economy is the 7th largest in the world, worth nearly $25tr in asset value. Despite this, it is drastically underinvested from a public and private capital point of view. Estimates suggest that $520bn is lost annually in economic activity and 26 million people are forced into poverty due to costal natural disasters and ocean degradation. 

Preserving our oceans is highlighted by the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, but it also has critical links to many other SDGs. Almost half the global population relies on seafood as their primary source of protein, which helps to address SDG 2, “zero hunger”. Around 60m people are employed in fisheries and aquaculture, the majority of whom operate in small-scale enterprises in developing countries, contributing to SDG 8, “decent work and economic growth”.  Our oceans generate 50% of the Earth’s oxygen and absorb 25% of all carbon emissions, which are important for people’s health (SDG 3) and climate action (SDG 13). The health of our oceans impact everyone, but particularly those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. In this way, addressing ocean pollution and advocating for ocean conservation not only has an environmental benefit, but ultimately also a profound economic one.

CHALLENGE

 The challenge invites participants from the examples below, however not restricted to, solutions that could protect and/or restore existing ocean based resources. For example:

• Reducing marine waste (along any part of the value chain)  
• Alternatives to single use plastic packaging/materials 
• Support sustainable aquaculture practices 
• Provide marine conservation benefits

Alternatively, solutions linked to opportunities for enhanced or new economic activity derived from the ocean. For example:

• Ocean related energy
• Blue carbon initiatives
• Minimise shipping contribution to climate change

ELIGIBILITY

1. Aligned: Evidently aligned with the SDG14 challenge. See ‘Challenge outline’.
2. Youth-led: Founded by a person aged 18 – 30.
3. Focused: Well-structured time horizon, identified key stakeholders and beneficiaries, and proposed outcomes that are reasonable and well thought out.
4. Proven: Readily available, in or past implementation phase.
5. Impactful: Solutions must have a positive social impact, for example generating employment, or developing skills.
6. Measurable: Impacts of solutions must have been adequately measured and/or be measurable.
7. Financially viable: Must be able to achieve efficiency and to survive independently through the resources they generate and/or the investments and donations they attract.
8. Scalable: Potential to perform as well or better after expanding in scope or size and/or being transported to other regions.

BENEFITS

The winning solution will receive

• A US$50,000 grant from Credit Suisse
• 12 months of mentorship from a team of Credit Suisse professionals. The mentorship team will work to accelerate your solution based on the needs of your initiative or organization, such as:
  • Business strategy
  • Best practices for data collection
  • Monitoring and evaluation
  • Product design

OFFICIAL LINK

https://www.lead2030.com/challenges/2020/2019-challenge-goal-14