Welcome to our July newsletter!
The start of this summer has been an exciting and productive
time for the blue economy community, including the Blue
Economy & Finance Forum, World Oceans Week, and the UN
Ocean Conference. Below are some highlights from the past
few months, as well as a look ahead to Climate Week NYC this
September.
Financing Plastic Solutions Convening:
Investable Oceans hosted
Financing Plastic Solutions during The Explorers
Club’s 10th Annual World Oceans Week, bringing together
leaders from finance, industry, and philanthropy to explore
the rapidly evolving plastics innovation and investment
ecosystem. Throughout the day, participants examined where
capital is flowing, where important financing gaps remain,
and how we can better align investment with scalable
solutions emerging across the plastics value chain.
The program featured inspirational opening remarks from Dr.
Sylvia Earle, a keynote by H. Fisk Johnson, a fireside
conversation with EILEEN FISHER, INC., lightning talks from
the Pew Charitable Trusts and
IFC, and panel discussions spanning corporate strategy,
investment approaches, and innovative technologies. We also
hosted an investor gathering featuring two venture capital
funds and three companies working across recovery, reuse,
redesign, and materials innovation. A sincere thank you to
our sponsors, BNP Paribas and Kirkland & Ellis, as well
as the speakers and participants, for helping create such an
engaging and collaborative event. You can see the highlights
in our
LinkedIn post
and send us an email if you'd like a copy of the event
summary report in the coming weeks.
Investable Oceans on the Road:
Over the last couple of months, we enjoyed reconnecting with
longtime collaborators and meeting new members of the
growing blue economy community at events in Connecticut, the
Hudson River, Massachusetts, Paris, and Hawaiʻi.
At the end of World Oceans Week, we co-hosted
Riding the Wave: Blue Finance for Restoring Ocean
Health
at Foundation House in Greenwich alongside Builders Vision,
ImpactAssets, Sea Forward Fund, and Oceanic Global. The
gathering of investors, family offices, and philanthropists
reflected the collaboration needed across the entire capital
spectrum to solve ocean challenges.
Additional highlights included co-hosting Climate Cocktails
on the Peace Boat, visiting SWEN Capital Partners for the
installation of their team’s new ocean photography in its
Paris offices, Helena’s fireside chat at East Meets West,
and mentoring ocean entrepreneurs through VentureWell’s
Ocean Enterprise Accelerator program.
Capital Continues to Flow into Sustainable Ocean
Solutions:
People often ask us, “How much capital is flowing into the
blue economy?” While it’s difficult to answer precisely –
given the wide diversity of capital sources and investment
vehicles – we keep a close eye on two important indicators:
reports that aggregate market activity and major capital
commitments as they’re announced.
On the first front, the European Commission’s
BlueInvest Investor Report 2026
provides an excellent overview of the rapidly evolving blue
investment landscape. The report highlights continued growth
in blue innovation, an expanding pipeline of
investment-ready companies, and the increasing need for
private capital to help scale promising solutions.
On the second, Bloomberg Philanthropies just announced an
additional
$260 million commitment
to its Bloomberg Ocean Initiative. This funding will help
advance the implementation of the High Seas Treaty, expand
marine protected areas, strengthen fisheries transparency,
support coral reef restoration, and build capacity for ocean
governance in SIDS.
Taken together, these developments reinforce what we’re
seeing across the market: a broader and deeper flow of
capital into sustainable ocean solutions – from venture
capital and private equity to blended finance, blue bonds,
and philanthropic capital that plays such an important
de-risking role in the ecosystem.
Looking Ahead to Climate Week NYC:
We’re already busy planning for another very “blue” Climate
Week NYC and are currently working on five different events
spanning blue foods, ocean AI, corporate leadership,
circularity, and investment opportunities across the blue
economy. It’s shaping up to be another enlightening
ocean-packed week! Please let us know if you’re planning to
be in NYC this September and we’ll do our best to keep you
informed. We hope to see many of you during what has become
one of the year’s premier gatherings for the global ocean
community.
As always, we thank you for your support!
The Investable Oceans Team
