“It takes courage to know when to walk away from an idea and look to the next”

What inspired you to become involved in this year’s Ocean Changemaker Challenge?

One of the best things about my role as chief sustainability officer is that I can see what happens when we bring innovation to life in our markets. When we can play a role in turning concepts into businesses or when we can support the sustainability ambition of businesses that create positive change, the energy is infectious and it creates a ripple effect across our organisation.  

It’s that human capacity to deliver breakthrough solutions in times of unprecedented change which gives me optimism about the future, so it’s a privilege to be able to give a platform to promising new innovators in this space who are applying their creativity and ingenuity to pioneer new approaches to restoring ocean health. 

Why is it so important to offer mentorship to today’s innovators looking to bring solutions to scale?

Good mentorship is critical to cultivating an innovative mindset and ensuring that new and nascent ideas are given the opportunity to flourish. This is essential in today’s world, as innovation is the driving force that will help bring to bear many of the solutions and commercial breakthroughs we need to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

I see the benefits of mentorship first-hand through the dedicated innovation hubs we have built at Standard Chartered. The hubs are a safe space for our team to try and test innovative solutions that have potential to transform the way we approach the climate challenge—from blended finance to innovative nature financing, to adaptation finance, all the way through to scaling carbon markets.

All these areas are transversal, inviting colleagues to whiteboard in places where their expertise can add value and cross-functional synergies. Each is also run by a senior leader in my team, who can offer their years of experience to help colleagues challenge assumptions, expand their mindset and engage with the networks and organisations that will help to connect solutions with capital to scale up. The mentorship they provide is a catalyst for the work the team is doing to seed the next generation of opportunities.

What/where are some of the innovation gaps that currently exist in the blue economy? Where do you see the biggest opportunity for progress?

So much of our business, especially in our markets, is intertwined or dependent on our oceans—which also play a vital role in absorbing over 25% of human-caused carbon dioxide. But while the global community is now much more aligned on the need to protect and restore our oceans, we aren’t yet fully capturing the opportunity this presents.

Let me use seaweed as an example. Our latest research Seaweed: Kelp is on the way, shows that expanding the seaweed industry has the potential to improve the health of our oceans while delivering a wide range of other sustainable outcomes, including as a source of more sustainable human and animal protein, a substitute for plastic packaging and as a potential biofuel. 

However, significant funding gaps remain, and many seaweed companies are not large enough to attract institutional investors and the capital needed to scale up seaweed production more rapidly. Enabling the development of market-based funding mechanisms for the seaweed industry may require a different approach to identify new innovative financial mechanisms. One such solution could be an investment vehicle that could carry a guarantee from entities such as the World Bank, the EU or regional development banks, reducing the risk profile of seaweed investing and lowering the interest cost of borrowing for seaweed farmers.

How do you stay updated on the latest innovations in the ocean space?

In my role as CSO, I’m fortunate to be well connected to teams on the ground that are driving innovation in this space across our markets. This ranges from the Seychelles, where Standard Chartered launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond in 2018 to support the local blue economy, all the way to Pakistan, where the Delta Blue Carbon project is helping conserve 350,000 hectares of mangrove forests—the largest project of its kind in the world. 

As a founding partner of the Earthshot Prize, which incentivises innovative solutions to urgent environmental challenges and which includes the oceans as a core prize category, we also have the opportunity to connect with a deep network of global innovators seeking to restore and preserve the world’s oceans.

We are also actively engaged with leading civil-society actors in the ocean sector, ranging from the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (which we are proud corporate sponsor of) to the UN Ocean Council, alongside so many others who are doing their part to draw attention and action towards ocean conservation.  

It’s a real privilege to witness so much technology, new systems thinking and other forms of innovation in this space in my everyday role. It makes me hopeful that, together, we will be able to find ways to adequately repair and protect our precious oceans.

What would you recommend to help startups balance environmental, social and economic considerations in their business models?

Integrating environmental and social considerations into strategic decision-making doesn’t just help organisations better manage their exposure to risk—it also positions them for future success in a time of change. The good news for startups is that they can integrate sustainability into their DNA from the very beginning and capitalise on this to attract the right talent and enhance their attractiveness to investors from day one. This will also help lay important foundations for the kind of business a startup wants to be in the future.

It isn’t always easy to do, particularly when the ESG landscape is evolving so rapidly. Finding the right partners that can help navigate through changes to standards and regulations is key. I’d also urge startups to consider sharing learnings and resources wherever possible.

In your opinion, what are the key factors and skill sets required to contribute to a successful ocean-focused startup?

You don’t just need passion to build a successful ocean-focused startup—you also need a deep understanding of the unique biome you are working to contribute to, and more importantly, its interdependencies. Our ocean is a dynamic system of interdependent ecosystems, and no solution will work in isolation. This is why a collaborative mindset is critical for organisations working to advance the ocean agenda.

The other key skill ocean-focused startups need is resilience. One can spend a lot of time in this area chasing rabbits down holes that don’t lead anywhere. If we’re going to try and create change, we need to keep trying and refining until we find that breakthrough solution. It takes courage to know when to walk away from an idea and look to the next, but it’s what delivers progress.

One of the big challenges for investors is identifying startups that have unicorn potential because, to date, there are none. Why is that and what message would you give to investors?

Our oceans are perhaps our greatest source of untapped wealth. They support the livelihoods of billions of people, they are essential to mitigating the worst effects of the climate crisis, and they create tremendous value for the global economy—with an annual economic value estimated at $2.5trn.

If we are serious about delivering sustainable economic growth, we must urgently accelerate efforts to protect and restore this vital ecosystem. 

The good news is that the adoption at COP15 of the pledge to protect or conserve at least 30 percent of the planet's land and ocean by 2030 has already helped catalyse blue-economy investment from sovereign donors. This, coupled with the important progress that has been made in recent years in developing breakthrough solutions for channelling capital towards nature-based solutions—such as blended finance—will help make investment opportunities more tangible.

We also have numerous examples across asset classes investing in the ocean economy and in ocean conservation that are generating commercial returns for investors, so the path is clear for those seeking market rates of return while delivering positive impacts for the ocean.

Now, with the right tools and frameworks in place, investors must capitalise on the opportunity to unlock the true value of our oceans. The potential is significant—our analysis found investments in seaweed alone could generate up to $313bn of value and generate 200m jobs. Just think of that effect multiplied across other nature-based solutions.

You’ve mentored many others—can you provide insights into your mentorship process? How do you tailor your guidance to meet the unique needs and goals of individual mentees?

My mentorship philosophy is informed by two things. The first is Standard Chartered’s approach to sustainability, which is heavily influenced by our footprint across some of the world’s most dynamic markets. We know from our work with them that they need customised solutions that speak to their needs, their ambitions and challenges—not just something that’s off the shelf. This is just as true for startups and innovators. That’s why, irrespective of whether I’m meeting with a sovereign, corporate stakeholders or a nascent startup, I always start by listening to understand their unique needs, challenges and ambitions and try to act as a solutions provider.

The second is my belief in the strength of networks. I get excited when an exploratory conversation between two people creates an unlock. When it helps an idea become reality in the space. It’s the power of sustainability collaboration in action and it’s what gets me up in the morning. So if I can help foster connections between my mentees and others in my organisation or across my network, and it sparks a new idea or solution, I know I will have made a meaningful difference.

Views or opinions expressed are those of the author and any individuals cited, and do not necessarily reflect those of Economist Enterprise or any other member of The Economist Group.