Fugro has accepted an invitation from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO) to join the Ocean Decade Alliance (the ‘Alliance’).

Comprising an eminent network of global leaders and institutions, the Alliance aims to catalyse support for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021‑2030 (the ‘Ocean Decade’) through targeted resource mobilization, networking and influence.

IOC-UNESCO Executive Secretary Dr. Vladimir Ryabinin extended the invitation to Fugro CEO Mark Heine based on the company’s demonstrated and sustained commitment to the vision of the Ocean Decade. Fugro’s recent partnership agreement with IOC‑UNESCO to transform the coordination of and access to global ocean science data, including privately-held Geo‑data assets, exemplifies this commitment. The agreement includes significant in-kind support from Fugro via loan of experts to the IOC-Secretariat in Paris for establishing and administering two key ocean science working groups.

As a member of the Alliance, Fugro will collaborate and coordinate with other Alliance members in leveraging existing commitments to raise awareness about Ocean Decade objectives and activities worldwide; create a platform for demonstrating the role and power of science in providing solutions for ocean sustainability; and establish a broad international network that stimulates additional actions and commitments in the framework of the Ocean Decade across all levels of society.

Fugro CEO Mark Heine stated: “We are proud to support the Ocean Decade and honoured to be part of the Ocean Decade Alliance. It is critical that the private-sector help lead this global initiative, as we collectively have much to offer and much to gain from a sustainable and equitable ocean economy. I can personally attest that Fugro is up for the leadership challenge and will deliver on the trust that has been instilled in us.”