Today marks the 11th annual World Oceans Day, where people around the world celebrate and honor the ocean, which connects us all. It’s clear the health of our oceans is intimately linked to both social and economic well-being. Degradation of coastal and marine ecosystems threatens the physical, economic, and food security of local communities.

At Salesforce, we know business is the greatest platform for change. As a technology company, we have a unique opportunity to bring together the world’s leaders and innovators who have the creative skills to create solutions for our world’s most pressing challenges. New technology and creative ideas are allowing us to explore further into the depths to discover how we can take what we need from the oceans while promoting a sustainable, prosperous future.

This World Oceans Day, join us in celebrating our five favorite moments from past Salesforce events where subject matter experts across industries came together to discuss the challenges facing our oceans and the innovations that already exist, inspiring us to act.

1. Sylvia Earle, Adrian Grenier, Nainoa Thompson and more on “The Water Challenge: Protecting Critical Resources” at Dreamforce ‘18

During the first-ever Climate Summit at Dreamforce ‘18 we spoke with the renowned marine biologist, Sylvia Earle, joined by Ocean Elder, Nainoa Thompson, celebrity activist, Adrian Grenier, and adidas’ Director of Sustainability, Alexis Haass to talk about water and oceans. The session highlighted key topics including education, awareness, and respect of the oceans. “You can’t protect what you don’t understand,” said Nainoa Thompson.

2. One Ocean Collab’s "Ocean Hack" at the Global Climate Action Summit ‘18

At the inaugural Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, “The Ocean Hack,” presented by the One Ocean Collab in partnership with Salesforce, brought together technologists, conservationists, and designers from the Bay Area and around the world to solve the most pressing ocean health issues in a two-day hackathon. Designed to surface challenge areas that need large scale solutions and could leverage the capabilities of Salesforce and the wider network, the hack resulted in a variety of new solutions focused on four challenge areas including:

• Accelerating ocean literacy: Without connection, there is no protection. We build on World Ocean Day for Schools to make it both a global and deeper learning experience every day of the year.
• Citizen monitoring of ocean help: Creating a standard, open and engaging system for wider citizen participation and quality data collection for partners.
• Coastal health and ecosystem: How can the pressure of tourism on critical coastal ecosystems be turned into regenerative innovations for carbon capture and restoration?
• Water is medicine: Hacking a new (scientifically proven) personal wellbeing story into the ocean discourse. Shifting from economic to personal connection.

3. Ashlan Cousteau, Nishan Degnarain, Adam Lashinsky, Douglas McCauley, Wendy Schmidt on “The Ocean is Everyone’s Business,” Fortune CEO Series, Dreamforce ‘17

The Fortune CEO Series at Dreamforce ‘17 brought together a dynamic panel across industries, from philanthropists to nonprofits and business leaders alike, all in unison that the ocean, is in fact, everyone’s business. “The ocean is our lifeline,” said Ashlan Cousteau. “If we don’t have healthy oceans, we can’t have healthy businesses, because we won’t be here.” Wendy Schmidt, President of the Schmidt Family Foundation, and Co-Founder of Schmidt Ocean Initiative remarked, “My attention to this is based on the urgency around this. Science can help. Philanthropy can help. We can all go further faster, together.”

4. Douglas McCauley, Julie Packard, Boyan Slat, and more on “The Future of Our Oceans at Forbes Philanthropy Summit,” Dreamforce ‘16

Director of the Benioff Ocean Initiative and Professor at UC Santa Barbara, Dr. Douglas McCauley, kicked off this panel at Dreamforce ‘16 by asking, “Why should we be talking about oceans at a tech conference?” Chair of the World Economic Forum, Special Initiative on the Ocean, Nishan Degnarain, Conservationist and Philanthropist, Julie Packard, Ocean Cleanup Founder, Boyan Slat, and Dr. McCauley showcased the impact of exploring the intersection of technology, creativity, and collaboration allowing us to confront the alarming reality of our oceans. “Technology is the most powerful agent we have,” Slat said. “It should be used responsibly.” 

5. Al Gore, Marc Benioff and more discuss the Ocean Economy at Davos ‘19

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), oceans could contribute $3 trillion annually in value added to the global economy by 2030, supporting close to 40 million full-time jobs. How can the world tap into the ocean economy while protecting it from environmental collapse? What are the real threats to our oceans and how can we move to protect them? These were among the topics discussed in a panel discussion titled “Taking Action for the Ocean” at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

“We have a lot of good leaders around the world and we are seeing some regional and state governors and mayors picking up the mantle of leadership that has been dropped by some heads of nation states,” Gore said. “But ultimately it comes back to the people demanding the kind of leadership that humanity deserves. The younger generation is demanding a better world and rising up.”

For more on Salesforce's sustainability initiatives, visit salesforce.com/sustainability.