Ocean Conservancy is a global nonprofit founded in 1972 that unites science, people and policy to protect the ocean through research, government advisory, coalition building and volunteer engagement.
Ocean Conservancy is an ocean conservation organisation founded in 1972 that works at the intersection of science, people and policy. Its stated approach is to advise governments, build coalitions and engage global citizens around evidence-based solutions to ocean challenges. The organisation operates globally and describes its mission as protecting the ocean "forever and for everyone".
Its work is organised around several programme areas. These include biodiversity protection, climate solutions - among them the consequences of the ocean absorbing some 90% of excess heat - and the prevention of ocean plastics. Related technical domains span marine science, conservation science, environmental policy, climate solutions and biodiversity protection. The organisation also runs government advisory and coalition-building work to translate research into policy.
Scale is a defining feature of the operation. Over 53 years the organisation reports mobilising some 19 million volunteers worldwide and removing 400 million pounds of plastic from the ocean through its plastics prevention and clean-up efforts. Volunteer and citizen engagement sits alongside its scientific and policy work as one of its core functions.
The culture is that of a mission-driven nonprofit, with an emphasis on evidence, on intergenerational responsibility - protecting the ocean today and for future generations - and on combining research with broad public participation.
