Ocean Investment Trends with Aly Rose, CREO Syndicate

Welcome to Planet & Purpose, a bi-weekly LinkedIn Newsletter featuring professional insights and personal experiences from ocean and climate ecopreneurs, VCs, advocates, and beyond.

If you’re new to my page and this newsletter, welcome! I’m Daniela V. Fernandez , Founder & CEO of Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA).

Today, I’m joined by Aly Rose , Sector Manager, Oceans, Seafood & Aquaculture at CREO , a nonprofit seeking to mobilize $100 billion towards climate solutions by 2027.

Aly is a friend of Sustainable Ocean Alliance and a sustainable blue economy subject matter expert. She’s been published on topics such as how funds measure ocean impact, the role of blue carbon in combatting climate change, and an ocean alkalinity enhancement assessment.

Given her wide-ranging expertise, we sat down for a deep dive into ocean investment trendspotting.?

As always, we also discuss her professional background and unique career journey within the sector. I firmly believe you’ll be inspired by this former teacher and lifelong learner’s nonlinear trajectory and her career pivot for the planet. Dive in below and stay tuned for upcoming editions!

Daniela (DVF): Welcome to Planet & Purpose, Aly!

Aly Rose (AR): Daniela, thank you for hosting me and for your outstanding work as an ecosystem builder and ocean advocate. Your efforts are genuinely inspiring.

DVF: Thank you, Aly! I am excited to speak to you on investment trends in the sustainable blue economy. Before we dive into your background, please explain CREO Syndicate to readers.

AR: CREO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that includes dedicated members focused on implementing scalable solutions to combat the climate crisis. Our primary goal is to mobilize $100 billion toward climate solutions by 2027. We collaborate with over 200 members, who include wealth owners, family offices, family trusts, and family-owned enterprises, as well as over 1,000 aligned investors and numerous partners to achieve this ambitious target.

DVF: You’re the Sector Manager for Oceans at CREO. Why the focus on the ocean?

AR: Spending nearly half my childhood on the Maine coast, I have always cherished the ocean, and my career has always been driven by a desire to leave a lasting, positive impact on Earth.

At CREO, and particularly in the ocean sector, I work alongside a coalition of mission-aligned members committed to working together and investing in sustainable solutions within the sustainable blue economy across various ocean ‘verticals’. This encompasses areas such as sustainable aquaculture, mariculture, carbon dioxide removal, maritime, and beyond.

It's estimated that the ocean's ‘goods’—including fisheries and coral reefs—are worth around $24 trillion USD, with the related ecosystem services valued at around $2.5 trillion per year. But, much of this value relies on healthy ocean conditions. On top of that, the ocean sector remains significantly underinvested in climate efforts, with investable cash flows from conservation projects needing to be at least 20 to 30 times greater than current levels to support a truly sustainable ocean economy.?

Furthermore, an estimated $175 billion per year is required to transition all ocean activities to sustainable blue economy activities.

DVF: I find it imperative to help convey to potential stakeholders just how much catalytic capital is required to restore ocean health. But before diving into investment trends, let’s go back a bit and talk about your studies and early career.

AR: I studied Environmental Science, Comparative Policy, and Spanish at Bowdoin College , and then earned a degree in Spanish Linguistics from Middlebury College .

After working as a middle school Spanish teacher, I realized my passion for the ocean and the climate crisis was too strong to ignore.

DVF: I didn’t realize you were a former teacher, and coincidentally, I enjoyed a stint as an Adjunct Professor at Middlebury’s Institute of International Studies in Monterey! So, what came next?

AR: I then pursued a Masters in Public Policy, specializing in Climate Change and Sustainability Policy at 美国东北大学 . Simultaneously, I was working at SeaAhead , a bluetech innovation platform focusing on the ocean-climate nexus where I helped manage the angel investment network and spearheaded the development of impact measurement tools for SeaAhead’s incubator program. I also authored research papers on blue carbon to sustainable aquafeed alternatives and more.

This role led me to CREO Syndicate.

DVF: Your story helps to underscore what I always emphasize to young people and those interested in the space—you don’t need a marine biology degree to make an impact on the ocean.

That said, based on your experiences at the intersection of academia and investment, what skills are most relevant to jobseekers looking to increase their chances of being hired for up-and-coming ‘blue’ careers?

AR: While a strong knowledge of ocean science, policy, and business and investment fundamentals via an MBA could certainly help you towards a career in the ocean, it’s not the only way to get into the sector.?

The ocean needs diverse thought and expertise to develop and scale solutions, attract investment, and communicate clearly about complex scientific topics. We need everyone from fishers to financiers to help build a sustainable blue economy.

Ultimately, I’d say it’s most helpful to have a love for learning.

DVF: I love that sentiment. So as a lifelong learner and former educator, what advice can you give readers about returning to school or pursuing upskilling opportunities in an active career?

AR: In my opinion, embracing the discomfort of learning something entirely new is a vital part of personal growth and development—whether that happens in a classroom or on your own time.?

If you decide to reimagine your career and choose a new path (as I did), absorb as much information as possible and make the most of your time and resources available at school. Connect with professors who are experts in the field and speak to people already working in the industry you want to enter.?

Despite the challenges and uncertainties, with a growth mindset, acquiring new knowledge and connections can lead to significant personal and professional growth.?

Focus on these two statements that guided me to various ocean-focused opportunities.

1) If you don't try, you'll never know, and 2) It could all work out. Fortunately, it has.

DVF: We’ve come full circle. What ocean impact areas are you focused on today at CREO?

AR: As the Oceans Sector Manager, I publish research identifying and analyzing current and future market trends in the sustainable blue economy, drive content creation for educational programs, and connect members to relevant investment opportunities within the ocean sector.?

I first met SOA while working on an article about how ocean funds measure the impact of their investments in their portfolio companies. Soon after, I met the rest of the team at various ecosystem events, including at the 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition meeting during Climate Week NYC and Monaco Ocean Week.

As valued ecosystem partners, we share knowledge and research about trends we observe in the sector, and collaborate by connecting each other to companies that may be a good fit for either CREO’s deal pipeline, SOA’s Ecopreneur Network, or Seabird Ventures.?

DVF: You’ve become an invaluable member of the SOA network since we initially connected coming up on a year ago. We were thrilled when you featured SOA’s Chief Impact & Investments Officer, Craig Dudenhoeffer in your Green Money Navigating Impact Measurement article.

One year later, let’s evaluate any emerging tools or processes you’re aware of to help measure the efficacy and impact of ocean investments.

AR: Absolutely. We live in a world where data is arguably the most valuable currency.?

The term ‘ocean intelligence’ refers to advanced, data-driven solutions aimed at driving the sustainable blue economy using new technologies such as satellite imaging, blockchain, drones, sensors, gliders, AUVs and ASVs, and big data.

These technologies support research, exploration, business, and governance related to the ocean. They also aid in identifying, monitoring, and verifying activities and their impacts on the marine environment across various subsectors such as plastic pollution, aquaculture, shipping, offshore wind, and marine carbon dioxide removal.

Ocean data technologies are invaluable, both for assessing the effectiveness of ocean investments and for attracting larger financial institutions to consider the ocean as a bankable asset—leading to increased participation in ocean investment.

DVF: Do you see a role for AI to play in bridging ocean intelligence gaps?

AR: AI plays a significant role in achieving interoperability—allowing data to communicate with each other—which can be achieved via APIs. HUB Ocean illustrates the use of AI to enhance API functionality through data analytics.

Ideally, we aim to have sufficient ocean information hosted on an API in the coming years to create insurance products, leading to better risk mitigation and more participation by diverse investors.

DVF: You’ve written about blue carbon’s role in combatting climate change. But just as measuring impact can present challenges, many investors express concerns with the validity of the voluntary carbon market/fraudulent credits. How can we change investor perceptions?

AR: The demand for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions is growing.?

However, the supply of CDR credits—particularly blue carbon and marine CDR credits—remains limited.

Before voluntary marine CDR and blue carbon markets become a reality, we need independent and trustworthy providers of Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) services.?

This requires steady streams of high-quality biogeochemical data and agreement on criteria for MRV providers' independence and trustworthiness, as well as the specific type and quality of data needed to address uncertainties related to permanence and leakage.

DVF: I’m sensing a trend here. So, how can we speed up the necessary collection of ocean data to achieve these market goals?

AR: There are numerous ocean data technologies already in development today, but most are still at the seed stage and, therefore, several years out from deployment at scale.

Historically, ocean data has been viewed as a scarce and expensive resource, requiring research vessels that can cost upwards of $250,000 per day.?

Thankfully, we are transitioning to a future of data abundance. For example, researchers and new data technologies collected more ocean data in the year 2018 alone than during the entire twentieth century.

This is thanks to entrepreneurs using innovative, off-the-shelf technology to enable us to collect several multiples of magnitudes more data (which will be required for many ocean-based industries as they work to decarbonize).

Specifically, we need investors to fuel more of this technology like satellites, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and low-cost distributed sensors to be able to collect data at the scale needed.

DVF: On investments needed, I know CREO conducted compelling original research. Please share the investment archetypes that you primarily encounter in the ‘ocean vertical’.

AR: Absolutely.?

First, the archetypes we have identified are 1. Carveout, 2. Specialist, 3. Innovator, 4. Decarbonizer, and 5. Aligner.

I’d say that among the CREO members investing in the ocean, I see a fair amount of specialists, a few innovators, and many hopeful decarbonizers—particularly in the shipping sector.?

CREO members own or operate approximately 10% of the global shipping vessels used for trade, and with the recent International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations and EEXI regulatory measures, members are trying to understand how to best decarbonize their operations in what can be a very low-profit-margin industry.?

The biggest difference I see in comparing these archetypes to general climate is that there are very few ‘carveouts’ (experimental climate allocation) actively investing in the ocean sector.??

Because the ocean is a growing subsector within climate, it takes a certain level of knowledge about the various ocean subsectors to feel comfortable allocating capital to them.?

This can definitely be a barrier to entry for many investors at any stage of their climate investing journey—which is where I come in.

DVF: And thank goodness you do, because we need investment across the sector.?

To your example from earlier, emerging approaches to marine CDR can be high risk, and investors need support to understand the various methods, as well as the corresponding rewards associated with each.

AR: There are many associated upfront costs to all marine CDR methods.?

One of the most necessary is Research and Development (R&D) to enable responsible industry growth, which includes sensor technology development, field experiments, and modernizing ocean modeling technology. Diversifying potential solutions like ocean alkalinity enhancement, iron fertilization, and electrochemical methods can prevent over-reliance.

Philanthropic funding, such as the Carbon-to-Sea Initiative, and federal tax credits for research can support critical R&D initiatives. Ultimately, all pathways to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C depend on some level of carbon removal.

Ultimately, we know that all pathways to limit planetary warming to 1.5oC will depend on some level of carbon removal.

DVF: Yes, so much so that the White House established a Fast-Track Action Committee on Marine CDR. Both private and public sector investment will be necessary to help the world collectively reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, 2030 target of 10 gigatons of annual carbon removal.

AR: An ambitious but necessary endeavor. With the backing of the White House, I’m hopeful more carveouts in the private sector will get on board!

DVF: Since some readers may still be wary of the efficacy of marine CDR, I’m planning to dive deeper into this topic in an upcoming issue.?

AR: I know I’ll be reading along when that edition drops! Thank you again for welcoming me to Planet and Purpose for this trendspotting edition, I hope it was informative for readers.

DVF: Thank you for your immense insights Aly—this is one of my favorite editions to date!

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