Join us for the 2022 Oceans Prize
$50,000 Prize for Addressing Plastic Pollution
The Innovation 4.4 Oceans Prize catalyzes innovation for oceans solutions. The 2022 prize is focused on eliminating plastics from our oceans and other ecosystems by replacing future plastics use with better alternatives and removing existing plastic pollution
Innovators from around the world are invited to submit solutions in three categories:
The Innovation 4.4 Oceans Prize catalyzes innovation for oceans solutions. The 2022 prize is focused on eliminating plastics from our oceans and other ecosystems by replacing future plastics use with better alternatives and removing existing plastic pollution
Innovators from around the world are invited to submit solutions in three categories:
Non-petroleum based plastic alternatives that do not contain traditional plasticizers or any endocrine disruptors/dirty dozen chemicals.
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Systems level solutions for how we address the existing plastic pollution that include collection and processing (plastics recycling or any other process that involves re-toxifying the material for re-use with endocrine disrupting/dirty dozen chemicals does not qualify as a viable solution in this category).
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Component level solutions for how we address the existing plastic pollution that address a specific aspect of plastics in our environment such as collection only, processing only, etc. (plastics recycling or any other process that involves re-toxifying the material for re-use with endocrine disrupting/dirty dozen chemicals does not qualify as a viable solution in this category).
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Submission Timeline
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Prize will be officially announced at the UN Oceans Conference in Lisbon, Portugal along with submission deadline.
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SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:
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CONDITIONS:
1. The prize purse must be allocated to advancing the winning solution towards the next stage of commercialization and deployment - it cannot be allocated to other projects.
2. The proposed project must be an incorporated entity that the prize purse will de disbursed to, not an individual or group of individuals
3. The prize will be awarded in 2 installments with clear milestones set between the first and second installment (in case those milestones are not reached, the second installment will be re-allocated to the next highest ranked solution by the judging panel).
4. The prize purse will be awarded either as one $100,000 prize or as two $50,000 prized, at the discretion of the judges and based on which scenario is most likely to advance the issues the prize is solving for (better plastics alternatives and removal and processing of existing plastics) - each type of project will have different capital needs to reach certain milestones and also a different potential for impact towards solving these challenges, therefore the judging panel will determine whether one solution or two recipients will make the best use of funds to generate meaningful impact.
1. The prize purse must be allocated to advancing the winning solution towards the next stage of commercialization and deployment - it cannot be allocated to other projects.
2. The proposed project must be an incorporated entity that the prize purse will de disbursed to, not an individual or group of individuals
3. The prize will be awarded in 2 installments with clear milestones set between the first and second installment (in case those milestones are not reached, the second installment will be re-allocated to the next highest ranked solution by the judging panel).
4. The prize purse will be awarded either as one $100,000 prize or as two $50,000 prized, at the discretion of the judges and based on which scenario is most likely to advance the issues the prize is solving for (better plastics alternatives and removal and processing of existing plastics) - each type of project will have different capital needs to reach certain milestones and also a different potential for impact towards solving these challenges, therefore the judging panel will determine whether one solution or two recipients will make the best use of funds to generate meaningful impact.
Apply Now
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Our world is polluted with plastic and if we continue on this path, we will have more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050, and 4 out of 5 men will be infertile by 2040.
Petroleum-based plastics are a toxic poison with endocrine disrupting chemicals that are killing people pre-maturely and making them sick, while also disrupting ecosystems in our oceans, rivers, etc. 9.1 Billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s and the amount of plastic produced in a year is roughly the same as the entire weight of humanity. So, what can we do to deal with the existing plastic that is going to persist in harming humanity and ecosystems around the world for hundreds of years, and also replace petroleum-based toxic plastics with benign plastic alternatives that are cost effective and healthier for people and planet? Perhaps you are thinking that recycling is the solution or at least part of it? You may have even heard the term “circular economy” be erroneously applied to recycling plastics”. Recycling for one is only a temporary "kicking the can down the road" solution as plastics cannot be recycled for more than a few cycles before they are no longer viable as a material and become waste that goes in our oceans, landfills, rivers, etc. |
Secondly, in order to in the recycling process re-plasticize the recycled material, the used plastic has to be re-toxified with harmful endocrine disrupting chemicals like BPA, triclosan, etc. - the end product not only being harmful to the consumers who interact with the product but also at end of life to marine life and all other ecosystems that come into contact with the re-toxified product. Recycling of petroleum-based plastics is NOT sustainable on any level - it does not prevent the waste issue as plastics eventually become waste past a few cycles of recycling, and it perpetuates and increases the presence of highly toxic chemicals that harm human and ecosystem health. This is the antithesis of Circular Economy.
The chemicals in plastics have been shown to cause Infertility, Cancers, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Asthma, and many other serious health conditions. Why endocrine disrupting chemicals in petroleum-based plastics are a key threat to human existence - babies are born pre-polluted with over 100 chemicals in their bodies. By 2060 studies show that at the current and projected rate of toxicity, the human race will be unable to reproduce. Fertility clinics are already seeing more couples under 30 than over 40. Recycling is not a solution if we care about human and ecosystem health. Also, if we care about equity, communities of color are disproportionately affected by these issues. From every possible aspect of implementing sustainability practices, recycling petroleum-based plastics is UNSUSTAINABLE. |
Prize Judges
DULMA CLARK
Head of LiveBarefoot Fund, Vivobarefoot. Dulma launched LiveBarefoot Fund in 2019, an in-house philanthropic and impact investment hub she launched in 2019 centralising social and environmental projects at Vivobarefoot, a family footwear company with a mission to reconnect people and nature. Dulma drives research and innovation to create regenerative footwear and experiences by building impact partnerships around the world. Prior to that she set up an ethical shoemaking production line in Ethiopia providing jobs and value adding on locally sourced materials. In parallel, she has been collaborating with the indigenous communities setting up small-scale cobbling social enterprises to preserve traditional craftsmanship. |
MILLICENT WALLACE PITTS
CEO/Executive Director of OceanExchange.org OceanExchange.org is a US based, international non-profit with the sole mission to help the advancement of innovative solutions that support healthy oceans and coastal systems, and the decarbonization of ocean shipping/ports. Ocean Exchange awards two $100,000 non-dilutive grants to start ups with globally scalable solutions. Previous finalists and winners in the awards process are making significant technical and commercial progress. Millicent was an operating executive for thirty years in the chemical/materials industry with Atlantic Richfield, Rohm & Haas, Engelhard/BASF and with a university-based start-up. |
NICK GOGERTY
MD at Carbon Finance Labs Nick Gogerty builds global strategic relationships in financial services, government & technology firms at the highest levels. He has applied Blockchain, macro-economics, quantitative research and managed innovation across verticals in technology, finance and renewable energy. Recently role advising G20 working group on changes in sustainable finance and blockchain implications. He co-designed a blockchain crypto & monetary theory class for Fordham university. Chief Analyst for a European science research incubator modelling on the MIT medialab, he oversaw incubation & IP capture for 70 PhD projects: Artificial Intelligence & material sciences, fin-tech & others. |
LINA CONSTANTINOVICI
Founder and CEO of Innovation 4.4 Innovation 4.4 is an organization focused on accelerating innovation needed to achieve the UN SDGs, with three oceans focused initiatives – an Oceans Prize, an Oceans Funders Knowledge Platform, and Ocean Technology Showcases for governments and corporations. Lina also serves on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Association San Francisco Chapter. Lina has spent the past 15 years building impact solutions as an innovator, entrepreneur, investor, family office and sustainability advisor. In 2013, Lina received the NASA/SSV Award in the Showcase of Solutions for Planetary Sustainability for Startup Nectar, the first in the world biomimetic technology incubator that she founded. |
DR. ADAM SCHLENGER
Oceanographer and Marine Ecologist Adam Schlenger (PhD) studies ecosystem resiliency to climate change. His work aims to bridge the gap between science, economics, and policy to create global environmental solutions. By linking the structure and function of ecosystems to economic drivers, Adam's work identifies the major feedbacks between human and natural systems to quantify ecosystem services and improve the conservation and management of natural resources. Adam has conducted research at 5 major universities, worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a Natural Resource Specialist, is Co-chair of the NEXUS Futurism Working Group designed to highlight and drive social impact in emerging technologies, and has worked with a variety of non-profits focused on the application of technological innovation to ocean health issues. |
DR. NATHAN WALWORTH
Entrepreneurial marine climate scientist Dr. Nathan Walworth (PhD) works at the intersection of global change, exponential technologies, regenerative design, culture prediction, and the marine microbiome. His research has taken him from the Tropics to Antarctica with positions at various international institutions such as Lund University, the University of Southern California, and the J. Craig Venter Institute. He uses a combination of ecosystem models and microbial genomics to examine how the marine microbiome influences the global climate and carbon cycling. He is also a Global People's Fellow and Co-founder of Ocean SOS, the NEXUS Impact Accelerator, and the NEXUS Futurism Working Group. He is a speaker on the intersection of cultural, technological, and environmental futurism and Adjunct Faculty at the Regenerative Studies Institute at Cal Poly Pomona. |