The challenge now is to create virtual experiences that provoke the same emotional reactions that in-person immersive practices typically elicit. There is no better time than World Ocean Day to get started.

It Starts with a

Curators of  — like Dave Ford of , a company that brings industry leaders to threatened ecosystems, or ocean activist Emily Penn, founder of , a not-for-profit organization that runs all-female sailing research expeditions to investigate causes and solutions to ocean plastic pollution — are now forced to recalibrate and create entirely new models for engagement.

“eXXpedition’s ‘Round the World’ voyages have been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Penn explains. “But by using technology, we have an unprecedented opportunity to mobilize people, on land or water, who are looking to make a positive impact on society.”

It Works Like This

Anyone anywhere in the world can access the , which Penn developed in close collaboration . Powered by , the user-friendly, custom-built digital tool is designed to help individuals, advocates, and experts find their role and best-fit solutions to help solve ocean plastic pollution.

Users start by deciding how they want to create a shift. They can learn about marine plastic pollution, make a swap, participate in events and campaigns, inspire others, innovate, or lead their own project. For the business sector, for example, it could be through contributing to a new technology to improve the management of downstream waste.

Next, the user decides where they want to create a shift: at home, with kids, in the community, at work, in industry, or in government. And lastly, they decide the manner of shift they want to create: from sea to source catch (shoreline clean-up), conversion (recycling), looping (circular economy), or avoidance (plastic alternatives).

The platform includes hundreds of solutions, from changes people can easily make at home, like using  in their laundry or making DIY cleaning products and composting in their backyard, to shifts they can create in society, like  in their city or helping introduce plastic bag bans.

It Takes Just a Few Minutes

The platform shares a tailored and targeted selection of solutions so people can pick the one that is right for them. From start to finish, users can generate solutions in a short time.

Browsing the platform, you might decide to explore . You’ll come across Slo Active, a brand that makes ocean wear out of plant-based neoprene while also planting a tree for each piece made to offset carbon emissions. You’ll learn about the benefits of using alternative materials and the amount of carbon emissions reduced by this brand, but you’ll also learn that the brand has a limited selection and that products are more expensive than mainstream swimwear. You decide if you want to make a purchase or explore further.

Members of the  will come across many like-minded changemakers who are helping to reduce ocean plastic little by little with their projects, businesses, and initiatives.

One of them is Carry Somers, member of the eXXpedition journey from the  and founder of , a global movement of people in the fashion industry that aims to conserve and restore the environment and values people over profit. Somers and her team are active around the world, helping others learn about the people who made their clothes, how to buy, sell, and recycle ethically produced garments, and how to participate in the great clothes swap  in Hungary or Hong Kong.

It Can Have a Huge Impact

Tackling a massive problem like ocean plastic is extremely daunting, so Penn created the , which helps people see the problem firsthand and explore different solutions before finding their own role to help solve it. It’s about taking action, no matter how small, and inspiring others to follow.

Penn and her team use the SHiFT Method during eXXpedition ocean voyages to empower, workplaces, industry, and government back on land.

“What was missing was the ability to scale,” says Penn.“But thanks to the new platform and the partnership with SAP, we now have a chance to shift the way people feel, think, and act at scale.”

The beauty of the platform is participants and motivate them to create shifts in their own lives, communities that it connects people to outcomes, taking them on a journey from concerned thinker to practical doer. XM solutions from 51ˇçÁ÷were chosen because they help to build an accurate digital profile of a person, filtering a user’s personal lifestyle, circumstances, and the area they wish to become involved in, and then help them select the appropriate action to take.

Now that the technology is up and running, people who want to make a shift have an enterprise-grade, secure platform for submitting solutions to SHiFT’s directory, allowing Penn and her team to efficiently grow the database of solutions for reducing ocean plastic. At the same time, it will enable 51ˇçÁ÷to connect its myriad of business initiatives to clean the ocean to a planet of changemakers.

Join Emily Penn and the WWF in conversation on Sustainability at e’ffect at 11am AEST on Thursday, September 24 2020. .

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51ˇçÁ÷is partnering with  and the initiative co-founder, ocean advocate , to support its commitment to a cleaner ocean by 2030. Emily and her team have invited 300 women from all walks of life to sail 38,000 nautical miles in 30 stages. The women have one mission: to explore the science of — and solutions to — ocean plastic and become ambassadors to combat ocean pollution.

The need for ocean advocacy is greater than ever before. Research suggests there could be  floating in our oceans than previously thought. But in truth, no one has a precise metric on the volume or impact of plastic polluting the oceans. Emily and team aim to raise greater awareness based on scientific data with the help of SAP.

“I’m incredibly excited to join forces with 51ˇçÁ÷to improve the health of our ocean by bringing together the energy of our eXXpedition community and our scientific research with SAP’s innovative technologies,” said Emily. “Industry has a huge role to play in addressing the challenges our ocean faces. The most pressing problem is how to turn off the tap to plastic pollution, and the next years will be spent doing just that — trying to prevent plastic getting into the ocean in the first place. For us to do that, we need everybody on board and, in particular, we need businesses to come to the table and take a lead, as 51ˇçÁ÷is doing.”

Plague of Plastic

To tackle the problem, businesses need to rapidly shift to single-use alternatives, move toward circular business models, invest in waste infrastructure, and ensure a better consumer experience.

The software giant will share data and insights from the eXXpedition voyages to provide customers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments, and partners with the tools, insights, and solutions needed to eliminate waste, maximise resource productivity, and help raise awareness of the need to create a cleaner ocean for all. One step in that direction is the Plastics Cloud, a pilot program from 51ˇçÁ÷that was launched last year to help reduce the waste of single-use plastics.

Building on that program, 51ˇçÁ÷will support Emily and eXXpedition by creating a custom-built digital platform to educate people on actions they can take to reduce plastic waste in their local communities. Enabled by Ariba Network, the Plastics Cloud allows brands to connect with new recycled plastics and alternative supply sources. About  globally is used in product packaging, but less than one-fifth of this plastic is recycled, creating serious environmental and human health problems.

Around $10 billion worth of packaging flows through Ariba Network annually. “Even a small portion of global spend on packaging redirected to pre-certified suppliers of recycled plastics and alternatives can have a tremendous impact on the environment,” says Stephen Jamieson, head of Sustainable Business Innovation for 51ˇçÁ÷in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Paradise Lost

In one of her speeches,  how she was hitching a ride from England to Australia on a sailing boat a few years ago when she and the crew were alarmed by thuds on the hull. They found themselves surrounded by countless pieces of plastic a thousand miles from land. “That didn’t make sense,” she says. “The closest people to us were in the space station in orbit above us, yet here was evidence of human life and waste in the most remote part of the planet.”

That journey sparked her mission to connect scientists and communicators with the ocean. Emily has experienced the challenges firsthand on visits to the Pacific, where islanders are struggling to catch fish because commercial vessels empty their waters and are also struggling to grow food because rising sea levels make land salty. “These people are now reliant on packaged food and drink, which comes all wrapped in plastic,” she says.

Besides the sight of plastic in the ocean, the worst thing for Emily was the knowledge that burning plastic releases chemicals that lead to cancer and disrupt human hormones.

Why Women

Women are still only , but that is not the only reason eXXpedition is taking an .

Historically, studies on the effects of chemicals on human health have focused on  simply because they make up the majority of the workforce in areas where occupational hazards have been studied. As a result, research on female-specific diseases has had a low profile. This imbalance is becoming increasingly important as the incidences of non-communicable diseases, such as cancers, are increasing.

Emily had her blood tested for 35 chemicals and discovered she already has 29 in her body. This is alarming because phthalates, which are present in personal care products, cleaning products, fragrances and cosmetics, , and plastics and epoxy resins, which are found in food containers, have been found to  in females.

Takes Problem Solvers

One of the 300 women joining Emily on a leg of the journey is Natasha Pergl, global sustainability lead for Innovation Services and Solutions at SAP. Natasha has never sailed before, but she will join the Galapagos-to-Easter Island Pacific leg of the all-women ocean voyage.

For Natasha, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. As a child, she was always curious. Historical expeditions fascinated her, and she was intrigued to find out how things work. As a born problem solver, she is confident the team can solve challenges like plastics, but only with the right knowledge and by working together. She understands that researchers and scientists like Emily need data in order to share insights with the business world and help impact changes further upstream.

Creating circular manufacturing and supply chain processes is one way to help solve the problem. Natasha plans to record her experiences and take part in the science on board. Mostly, she is looking forward to learning as much as she can from her fellow crew members, who include a fashion activist, a legal adviser to refugees, businesswomen, and artists.

After the eXXpedition trip, Natasha will share her insights with business leaders and NGOs and help shape the solutions and services being developed at SAP.

This article first appeared on the Global SustainabilityNews Centre. 

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“Energy is the main source of life, and no human being can live without it,” says , CEO of , the leader in energy distribution across Egypt and the surrounding region. “It is essential in making our lives better, yet we know that our current use is critically affecting the environment and thus the earth’s climate.”

At 45, Kafafi is one of the most powerful businesswomen in Egypt and the Middle East. She is also the mother of two young children who are helping her rethink the future. As an expert in business transformation, she understands the need for technology to minimise the impact of energy on the environment and the urgency for finding alternatives to harmful sources like fossil fuels.

TAQA Heeds the Call for Change

“My nine-year-old daughter has a resolution for this year: She has announced the ban of any single-use plastic in our house,” Kafafi says with a smile. “Young people today are leading the way. Every person with a brain knows the next generation must be green. But that is easier said than done.”

Kafafi entered university at the age of 16 with a keen interest in business and economics, and now believes transformation must happen in parallel. As the executive leader of a company serving more than 1.2 million customers their daily need of energy, she is keenly aware of resource scarcity, cost, and the need for efficiency.

She also believes Egypt can play a leading role by introducing new energy options in the region — for example, by moving away from oil and replacing it with gas as an interim option. The long-term goal, however, is to build up renewable energy sources.

This approach aligns with the Egyptian government’s goal under a plan from the  to provide around 50 percent of the country’s energy needs through renewable energy — mainly wind and solar — by 2030.

In addition to meeting the demands of the domestic market, the vision is to help Egypt become a clean energy hub for the region.

This strategy for sustainable economic reform along with the discovery of the offshore giant Zohr gas field in the East Mediterranean are behind the  that Egypt will be one of the top 10 global economies in just 10 years — ranked seventh ahead of Russia, Japan, and Germany.

Facing the Energy Challenge

As the prime distributor of gas in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and with vast rural areas and underdeveloped cities with little or no infrastructure, TAQA Arabia has a big job ahead.

Liquefied petroleum gas bottles are still widely used in rural and remote areas off the national grid, both for home cooking and commercial use. Replacing the highly subsidised, imported liquefied petroleum gas with piped natural gas has many advantages, including safety, availability, and reduced environmental impact. It also decreases the country’s import and subsidy burden.

TAQA Arabia operates in three key areas: delivering natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial clients; providing a platform for conventional and renewable power generation and distribution for sectors such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, and real estate; and being the sole manufacturer and distributor of Castrol products and lubricants in the Egyptian market.

TAQA Solar, the company’s renewable energy arm has a  and is part of the biggest photovoltaic park in the world. The project is a  funded with $72 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other development banks.

Transitioning with Ease

“TAQA Arabia has always been focused on delivering power from conventional sources,” explains Kafafi. “But when the government launched the feed in tariff program, we were among the first to apply and show interest in developing such a giant project.”

For Kafafi, transformation is about flexibility. The company, for example, has introduced a hybrid option, so people can use solar energy during the day and switch to other conventional sources at night. She sees potential in many aspects of the energy industry, whether developing rooftop solar panels for commercial use in industrial zones or penetrating the untapped water desalination market using renewable energy and sustainable technologies.

Growing up with a father who was active in the oil and gas sector, Kafafi was fascinated by the details and management tasks behind big corporations. When starting her own career path, she opted for investment banking at one of Egypt’s leading investment firms, , where she gained solid experience working on mergers and acquisitions. She first joined the energy sector when appointed investment director for TAQA Arabia, before eventually becoming CEO.

“We are a very flexible company,” Kafafi asserts. “As well as being a first mover and a market innovator in many aspects, we’re relying on technology like 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA to help us manage and analyse our data. And it’s a great tool for forecasting and planning.”

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