The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has joined over 80 businesses and supporting organisations from 25 countries in a powerful Business Call to Action, urging global cooperation to protect and sustainably use the ocean—a critical asset for global economic resilience and environmental health.
The joint initiative, backed by companies representing over €600 billion in annual turnover and employing more than 2 million people, calls on both private and public stakeholders to accelerate efforts toward a thriving and resilient ocean economy ahead of the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France.
Organised by a coalition of influential business networks—including the ICC, United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Economic Forum (WEF), and others—the call recognises the vital interdependence between land and sea. It underscores the ocean’s crucial role in supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those related to climate action, biodiversity, and sustainable livelihoods.
The Call to Action urges: Businesses to contribute to ocean science, reduce environmental footprints, align climate and nature strategies with ocean health, and invest in innovative blue solutions.
They also called policymakers to adopt science-based policies, strengthen international ocean-related agreements, support climate adaptation—especially for sea-level rise—and create robust financing mechanisms.
The initiative highlights that even land-based industries and inland communities have a role in sustaining ocean ecosystems, given the land-sea connections through rivers, watersheds, and global supply chains.
“Healthy oceans are essential not only for biodiversity but for global economic stability and resilience,” said ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO. “This business call to action reinforces the need for collective leadership and ambition across all sectors.”
The convening organisations also include Business for Nature, We Mean Business Coalition, Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), the UN Global Compact Network France, and France’s Association of Enterprises for the Environment (EpE). With growing climate threats and declining marine biodiversity, the Business Call to Action signals a rising tide of corporate commitment ahead of the global summit next year, aiming to turn promises into measurable progress for the world’s oceans.