We are elated to be heading to the UN Ocean Conference next week!
As part of our mission in advancing ocean regeneration through industry transformation, Water Revolution Foundation (WRF) – with Special Accreditation to access high-level sessions and policy roundtables in the exclusive Blue Zone – will be actively contributing to the lead-up and formal participation in the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), held in Nice, France from 9 to 13 June 2025.
Reporting from the grounds of this key conference, our delegation will be composed of Henk de Vries, Chairman at WRF, Dr Vienna Eleuteri, Initiator and Vice President of WRF – and architect of the Ocean Assist Programme, Jorge Barbosa, Blue Economy Advisor – former UN DESA & World Bank expert, and Laurie Foulon, Strategic Partnerships & Communications Lead of the Ocean Assist Programme.
Dr Vienna Eleuteri is also participating in speaking engagements at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF), preceding the Conference on 7 & 8 June, in Monaco.
Reporting from the inside
Our engagement is anchored in announcing the Ocean Assist programme, formally submitted as a Voluntary Commitment under SDG 14 (Sustainable Development Goals 14: Life below Water), and structured to scale measurable regenerative impact from the yachting sector into global ocean agendas. The Ocean Assist programme bridges mandatory compliance (EU ETS, IMO MEPC 83) and voluntary leadership.
The full schedule can be found here, our presence will include:
📅 7–8 June 2025: Monaco Blue Economy & Finance Forum – speaking engagements, under private invitation from Prince Albert of Monaco
📅 9-13 June 2025: attending Green and Blue Zone events, speaking on different panels and roundtables, honouring invitations to exclusive receptions.
📅 13 June 2025: hosting the official Ocean Assist side event with UNCTAD: United Nations Trade and Development – please click here for the event programme and to register. We will be joined by a panel of speakers, including from the University of Genoa, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), TETIS Institute Srl and Project Seagrass.
What is Ocean Assist?
“Integrating regenerative investment into our businesses’ value propositions is the way to preserve a future for all” – Dr Vienna Eleuteri, Project Lead, Ocean Assist.
Ocean Assist is Water Revolution Foundation’s new programme that channels financial and strategic support from the maritime industry into scientifically validated marine restoration projects. This blue finance mechanism, containing a Standard, curated portfolio, and “units” as its currency, enables stakeholders to offset their ecological footprint while promoting biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and sustainable ocean practices. Ocean Assist is in support of the Regenerative Blue Economy, redefining the relationship between economic growth and marine conservation by prioritising restoration and resilience over sustainability.
By curating projects and adopting scientific tools that are urgently needed to protect the oceans, the superyacht community can maximise financial and non-financial resources to support nature-based solutions and aid the global effort to mitigate ecological impacts: leading the way towards net-zero, empowered to reach nature-positivity.
This collective and traceable approach includes coordination, shared structural commitment, and guidance by leading scientists in the field, seamlessly integrating into the industry’s Regenerative Roadmap 2050.
In practice
Going beyond sustainability, each Ocean Assist Unit combines 1t of CO2 in the form of tradeable carbon credits (VERs), with 1t of CO2 as Regenerative Contribution Units (RCUs): resulting in 1 Ocean Assist Unit repairing the equivalent of 2t of CO2 emitted, protecting biodiversity directly linked to the yachting industry’s supply chain.
All initiatives contributing to the Ocean Assist portfolio undergo independent scientific evaluation and are aligned with the Ocean Assist Standard through a rigorous screening and monitoring process, truly aligning the Programme with Global Ocean Governance.
The Ocean Assist Standard itself is:
- Scientifically validated and certified by RINA
- Managed by a dedicated team within Water Revolution Foundation
- Registered and transacted on the Eco2Care climate registry.
Upon transaction, an organisation buying Ocean Assist Units will be attributed official recognition via verified certificates: a Certificate of Permanent Withdrawal (VER), and the Ocean Assist Standard Certificate (2 tCO₂eq contribution).
A mechanism to serve the 3-R Model towards Regenerative Yachting
Following the 3R concept of Reduce, Remove and Restore, instilled in the Foundation by Dr Vienna Eleuteri, the Ocean Assist Programme was setup to support compensation efforts that move the industry toward nature-positive outcomes.
Moving away from the controversial carbon credit model, stakeholders are encouraged to acquire Ocean Assist Units once any optimisation pathways within one’s supply chain or onboard operations to Reduce or Remove has been exhausted: not replacing these measures.
We invite any stakeholders of the yachting and maritime industries, captain and operators of yachts and superyachts, to take the next collective step to lead voluntary commitment of ocean conservation.
Visit https://waterrevolutionfoundation.org/ocean-conservation/ocean-assist/ to learn more.