Get active

We can all do our bit for a healthy ocean.

Let's start at home: rather than wait for governments to act or companies to make their products more sustainable, why not make some changes yourself?

Reduce your own carbon footprint
The impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the ocean is the most important: every time you travel by car or plane or use single-use plastic, your carbon footprint increases - and that harms our ocean.

Use renewable energy
Burning fossil fuels is the greatest problem for our ocean. Install your own solar panels on your roof or balcony and make an immediate contribution to the citizen energy transition.

Change the way you travel
A typical car emits around 4.6 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Why not take the train or bike instead? Around 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions are caused by travel and tourism. Try to plan sustainable trips that protect the environment and climate while travelling.

Change the way you eat
Livestock farming is responsible for 18% of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Consider a vegan or vegetarian diet or reduce your meat and dairy consumption. A sustainable diet is not only good for you but also for the planet and our ocean. If you eat fish, make sure it comes from a sustainable source. Avoid cheap fish from destructive large-scale fisheries and buy from local fishermen where possible.

Reduce marine pollution
The majority of marine pollution is caused by industrial agriculture with over-fertilization and a variety of environmental toxins entering the ocean via runoff. Your purchasing power can prevent agriculture from having such a negative impact on our ocean - by buying products from sustainable agriculture, by supporting permaculture initiatives and by being willing to pay an honest price for agricultural products.

Choose the right bank
Only entrust your savings to a bank that is demonstrably and transparently committed to a sustainable planet and does not invest in deals that have a negative impact on nature. We must prevent natural and social capital from being converted into a financial capital that holds no value for our future.

Call for a plastic-free system
Start with the simple decision to eliminate single-use plastic wherever possible. Take a survey to find out how much single-use plastic is in your life and check out My Little Plastic Footprint for tips on how you can avoid plastic at home in the kitchen and bathroom, when travelling or in your free time.

  • Be ready to refill: a little preparation can go a long way. Take a bottle, shopping bag, cutlery and containers with you instead of accepting plastic alternatives. Stores and restaurants are often happy to refill boxes instead of using their own plastic containers.

  • Reuse and recycle: the earth's resources aren't infinite, we need to take care of them and introduce a circular economy - one without waste. A good example of this is a cell phone, 80% of which can be recycled. Don't just put your old cell phone in a drawer, recycle it!

  • Reduce microfibres: between 700,000 and 12 million microfibres are lost in a single load of laundry. If you wash your laundry less often and at lower temperatures and use a filter, bag or ball, you can catch the microfibres before they enter the wastewater.

  • Avoid products with microplastics. Tiny plastic beads in shower gels or facial cleansers cannot be filtered out before they end up in the sea. Use the Beat the microbead app to find out whether your bathroom products contain unnecessary microbeads.

  • Avoid toxic sunscreens: use reef-safe sunscreens. Look for an SPF that uses physical UVA and UVB filters, as opposed to the chemical filters that have been linked to coral reef destruction.

  • Take part in a cleanup: go out and collect the garbage! Every piece of litter collected is one less that can end up in a river or the sea. Cleanup apps like Litterati help you keep track of the amounts collected. Use the toolkit from Break free from plastic to identify the companies responsible for plastic waste in your community, school or office. Then hold them to account by writing to them saying that you want the product but not the plastic packaging that goes with it

  • Ask your government to take a responsible stance on waste disposal, stop waste exports, set a policy on single-use packaging and washing machine filters, provide better recycling facilities and champion the zero-waste movement.

  • Write to companies and ask them to use socially responsible plastic and introduce an EPR program.

  • Ask your local supermarket to offer plastic-free or unpackaged goods.

Get involved in a Citizen Science initiative
Public involvement in scientific research is a growing trend - data collection by the general public can significantly support the work of researchers and make a difference, from identifying corals or fish in underwater images to counting penguins in satellite images or collecting and counting plastic balls on a beach. If you go diving, sailing or surfing, you can take part in our Citizen Science Initiative to collect marine data.

Make your voice heard!
There are many ways to make your voice heard, be it at a demonstration by using your purchasing power, writing an email, signing a petition or voting in an election. Stand up for what you believe in and make your voice heard! Get in touch with policy makers and let them know that you will only vote for them if they take action to protect our ocean.