1) TOPS 2005 The Ocean Policy Summit
October 10-14, 2005, Lisbon, Portugal
2) Third Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands
January 23-28, 2006, UNESCO, Paris, France
The Global Ocean Forum organized the Business and Industry Leaders Roundtable to bring together key leaders from ocean industries around the world. The Roundtable is expected to address: 1) the contribution of each major ocean industry to the global economy, 2) the trends and challenges each major ocean industry will be facing in the next decade, 3) in particular, the environmental and social challenges each ocean industry will be facing, 4) approaches to addressing the emerging environmental and social challenges ocean industries will be facing, and 5) the possible involvement of industry interests in the implementation of the global oceans agenda and in the work of the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands.
At the first meeting of the Business and Industry Leaders Roundtable held at TOPS 2005 The Ocean Policy Summit on October 12, 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal, representatives from the range of ocean and coastal business and industries present shared their perspectives on the existing and potential contribution of the private sector to the sustainable development of oceans and coasts. The primary purpose of the Roundtable is to support the sustainable development of the oceans through the role of the private sector. Business and industry representatives at the Roundtable were clear that they were concerned about their responsibility to shareholders, to customers, to stakeholders, and their responsibility as employers and resources. The participants agreed that the Roundtable was a useful means for bringing together the private sector and global ocean stakeholders to build relationships and understanding. Through the Roundtable, participants hoped to generate dialogue on issues such as globalization and technology changes, science and best practices, and linking policy and practice.
In addition to building relationships among sectors and between the private sector and oceans stakeholders, participants suggested a potential framework for moving forward. Participants thought it might be helpful to focus on a particular theme in each future meeting (e.g. certification, NGO partnerships) so as to direct the dialogue and outcomes to targeted areas identified by participants. Participants felt the Roundtable would be a useful means for documenting and sharing best practices in sustainable development of the oceans. The Roundtable could also be a vehicle for engaging business and industry on ocean issues by going to business and industry meetings to ‘market’ the issues identified by the group.
The Roundtable organized a panel on Ocean Industries during the 2006 Global Conference, which focused on the importance of industry responsibility of sustainable practices. In addition, the necessity of building cross-sectoral partnerships among business and ocean leaders is of utmost importance. The panel highlighted several industries which have implemented sustainable practices and which focus on the protection of biodiversity in the oceans. Industries are working on protecting the oceans from pollution and improving industry standards as well as working with environmental organizations to achieve sustainability goals. Higher quality standards for a variety of products and environmental standards among corporations is a consensus of many industries. The panel called for multiple stakeholder interaction where protection of the oceans is concerned including further industry education. The value of ocean industries is high and further sustainability measures are recommended.
The Business and Industry Leaders Roundtable held a meeting on January 24, 2006 at UNESCO in Paris in conjunction with the 2006 Global Conference. The Roundtable Meeting, following the panel session highlighted sustainable development practices of various industries, and emphasized the value of ocean industries globally, regionally, nationally, and discussed the desirability of producing a report on the contribution of ocean industries to the global economy.
In 2007, the Global Ocean Forum focused on encouraging the participation of industry leaders in various sectors in specific Working Groups charged with examining particular WSSD goals or emerging issues, as part of the process of developing a strategic plan for advancing the global oceans agenda to 2016.
The next step, once the strategic oceans planning effort has been further elaborated and refined, will be to consult with business and industry stakeholders on their perspectives on the issues raised by the strategic planning efforts and to reflect the opportunities and constraints that the industries will be facing in the next decade. This will involve a systematic effort to canvass and assess the perspectives of business and industry leaders and to involve them in the dialogue on advancing the global oceans agenda.
