Ocean Disclosure Initiative

One Ocean Foundation

Ocean Disclosure Initiative

The first global science-based framework designed to address the impacts of various business sectors on marine ecosystems, powered by GenAI.

Milan, Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy

ITA

Nonprofit

The Ocean Disclosure Initiative addresses the critical lack of transparent, standardized data on corporate impacts on the ocean, providing the financial community with the insights needed to drive sustainable investment decisions. Marine ecosystems—essential for climate regulation, food security, and economic development—are degrading rapidly, largely due to impactful corporate activities. Over 40% of the global population directly depends on the biodiversity and services provided by marine and coastal systems—yet these vital ecosystems are increasingly threatened by industrial activities, in particular land-based industries, which account for 80% of ocean degradation through industrial runoff, plastic waste, and unsustainable supply chains. Despite this, corporate ocean-related disclosures are often inconsistent, fragmented, or entirely missing. SDG 14, “Life Below Water,” remains one of the least prioritized by companies. While corporate awareness is slowly growing, meaningful integration of ocean health into sustainability strategies is still lacking. This data gap severely limits the ability of the business community, policymakers, investors, and civil society to understand risks, ensure corporate accountability, and direct resources toward solutions.

The Ocean Disclosure Initiative (ODI) addresses a critical gap between corporate awareness and meaningful action on ocean-related challenges. It empowers businesses to understand, measure, and disclose their impacts on the ocean through a clear, science-based framework. ODI provides benchmark methodology and a tool that help companies and investors assess ocean-related risks and opportunities. By aligning with established sustainability reporting standards, it enables businesses to integrate ocean health into existing ESG practices, while supporting the financial community with reliable data for informed decision-making. At the core of ODI is a GenAI-powered system that leverages Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology. This advanced tool analyzes vast volumes of corporate data, such as sustainability and annual reports, with expert-level accuracy. It allows for scalable, science-driven assessments of corporate pressures on marine ecosystems. By transforming complex data into actionable insights, ODI makes corporate ocean impacts visible and comparable across sectors. This transparency helps drive accountability, improve business practices, and catalyze capital flows toward sustainable ocean solutions.

By increasing corporate accountability and enabling smarter financial decisions, ODI supports efforts to protect the ocean as a global life-support system. In doing so, it benefits everyone—ensuring cleaner water, climate stability, and healthier ecosystems for current and future generations. The Ocean Disclosure Initiative (ODI) primarily serves businesses, investors, and the financial community that lacks the tools or data needed to respond effectively and fund effective environmental projects. Businesses are the main users of the ODI framework. Many companies want to reduce their environmental impact but lack clear guidance on how to measure and report their ocean-related risks and dependencies. ODI provides them with a standardized, science-based approach to identify, disclose, and address these impacts. Investors and financial institutions are also key beneficiaries. They are increasingly seeking credible data to assess ocean-related risks in their portfolios but face inconsistent or missing information. ODI delivers transparent, comparable data that informs investment decisions and promotes accountability.