World Ocean Day – Open Letter from Kenneth Ng, Sustainability Manager, Razer Inc.

Today is World Ocean Day and the theme this year is "Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean" so I wanted to take this opportunity to revisit some of the actions Razer has taken to preserve and protect the oceans. But first, I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay tribute to the ‘lungs of the planet’ and remind our community of the important role that the oceans play in our everyday life.

The ocean covers over 70% of the planet and produces at least 50% of our oxygen. Moreover, they absorb about 30% of carbon dioxide produced by humans, mitigating the impacts of global warming. Not only do the oceans connect us, but they are also home to most of the earth’s biodiversity and are the main source of protein for more than a billion people around the world. Finally, an estimated 40 million people being employed by ocean-based industries by 2030 so they even play a role in the world’s economy!

Despite all the amazing things that oceans do to sustain life on earth, we are seeing that 90% of big fish populations are becoming depleted, and 50% of coral reefs destroyed, which is why no sustainability plan to protect the planet is complete without special consideration of how to protect the oceans.

Last year we launched #GoGreenWithRazer, our ten-year plan to preserve nature and as you would expect from a company of gamers, we have huge ambitions to make sustainability endemic to the industry. ?

We are taking an active stance on ocean issues and have signed on to support WWF’s policy against deep-sea mining. Many companies are seeking to source minerals from deep sea mining which is the process of extracting and often excavating mineral deposits from the deep seabed. The deep seabed is at ocean depths greater than 200m and covers about two-thirds of the total seafloor. However, this process could severely harm marine biodiversity and disrupt ecosystems, so Razer has joined the coalition of NGOs against deep-sea mining and have signed a moratorium to also encourage our suppliers to refrain from sourcing from the deep sea. As the first consumer electronics brand to do so, we strongly encourage other brands to join us in presenting a united front for ocean conservation.

We also recently announced the marine conservation cause that we have partnered with luxury watch manufacturer Panerai on. Last year at RazerCon we announced that we partnered with Panerai to protect the oceans, and even invited Francesca Santoro, Programme Specialist, IOC UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture, to expand on ocean literacy in a dedicated workshop for the Razer community to learn about the importance of the oceans, the current environmental threats, and what they can do to protect them.?Now we are happy to share that Panerai and Razer have partnered with the environmental nonprofit organization, Conservation International to support marine species research. The partnership will focus on satellite tagging manta rays to gather data — including temperature, depth, and location – which, when paired with known hazards and other information, can be used to inform conservation management of the animals and their habitat.

The manta ray program is led by Conservation International’s world-renowned coral reef ecologist and marine conservationist Dr. Mark Erdmann, who said, ‘The data from our ongoing research on manta rays has led to the development of sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities, supported the creation of new protected areas, and informed policy changes that protect these species and their ocean environment.’

We are also happy to share updates from our partnership with marine waste cleaning robot, ClearBot. With approximately 11 million tons of plastics entering the oceans each year, ocean cleaning enterprises often face challenges with dated technology, high costs, and operational inefficiencies. Under the?ClearBot?partnership, Razer’s leading engineers and designers?volunteered personal time?to?develop the?prototype into a scalable, mass-marketable product, which?is a tribute to Razer’s corporate culture.?Leveraging on Razer’s extensive knowledge and manufacturing know-how,?ClearBot?evolved into a design that is smarter and more?efficient. The?newly designed and fully automated robot is armed with cutting-edge AI and machine learning capabilities that can detect marine plastics within two meters in rough waters. The robot can collect up to 250 kg of plastics in just one cycle, while running on solar-powered energy.???The fleet now boasts 6 ClearBots and according to them, they achieve carbon avoidance of 4.6 tonnes of CO2 a year with more than 12 tonnes of ocean-bound trash collected a year, Clearbot is making a clear impact on our ecosystem.

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These are all small steps in the right direction and we are gearing up to do even more however we know we can’t do it all alone. The community needs to rally behind well-purposed start-ups and campaigns, giving them the platform to go to market faster and upscale quicker. Let us work together towards the conservation, protection, and appreciation of our oceans this World Ocean Day! Through our collective action we can and will revitalize the oceans.