ICC joins Business Call to Action to accelerate global cooperation for oceans

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has become a convener of a Business Call to Action, bringing the voice of the global business community to the United Nations Ocean Conference.

The call is supported by more than 80 signatories from 25 countries, including 55 businesses with a combined turnover of over €$600 billion and 2 million employees, according to a media release.

It urges both private and public decision-makers to strengthen global cooperation and accelerate action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.

The initiative emphasises the intrinsic connection between land and sea, highlighting the contribution and interdependencies between the coastal and marine environment and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the release says.

This call is directed at all economic actors, whether directly or indirectly connected to the ocean, and includes:

• A call to action for businesses to expedite maintaining ocean health through business actions, such as contributions to ocean science, monitoring and reducing environmental impacts, incorporating ocean considerations into their climate and nature roadmaps and investing in blue solutions.
• A call to action for policymakers to pursue ambitious science-driven policies and measures that stimulate sustainable business action and to jointly address land and ocean for enhanced global resilience

With this Business Call to Action, companies and business networks urge policymakers to agree to adopt and implement international agreements, champion strong, sustainable outcomes for existing and upcoming ocean-related agreements, invest in ocean science and support strong science-policy interfaces, acknowledge and embed into policies the links between ocean, nature and climate.

Policymakers are also urged to help all actors to collectively adapt to sea-level rise, develop robust and innovative finance mechanisms, and raise awareness to encourage all actors to care for the ocean, even those based on land, the release adds.

The Business Call to Action is convened by global and leading business networks including International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Economic Forum (WEF), We Mean Business Coalition (WMB), Business for Nature (BfN), Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), UN Global Compact Network France and Association française des Entreprises pour l’Environnement (EpE).