Climate Commitment

Environmental Impact Governance

As a part of our mission, Sofar Ocean is committed to responsible environmental practices when it comes to the development and deployment of our sensors.

To minimize our environmental impact we:

Track all of our buoys through GPS. We know where they are at all times, and monitor them for problems via satellite.

Are currently developing a version of the Spotter buoy incorporating a biodegradable hull that dissolves after its useful lifespan.

Have a buoy bounty program. When our buoys go off-grid, we have a program in place to retrieve them and reward the individuals who recover them.

Understand that any plastic pollution is problematic, and we also recognize that our products are significantly offset. Approximately 1,390 cargo containers fall off ships each year. This is a massive source of ocean pollution. If our network prevents even one cargo container from falling overboard, we have offset our potential pollution.

Offset the presence of our buoy network by removing 21,000 pieces of plastic waste from the oceans each month (5,000 kgs per year) through Plastic Bank.

Improve voyage safety

Oceans drive our weather and climate, which impacts everyone: every human, every industry, and every country.

Reliable and robust ocean data is central to understanding our changing planet. To help progress science and research, we are making our data available to academic researchers focused on understanding ocean dynamics and mitigating the effects of climate change on our planet and weather.

The IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate was blunt and sobering. High-quality ocean data at sufficient scale and density to improve our understanding and models remains a formidable challenge.

We’re committed to doing our part by providing the global research community with more and better data. If you're an academic researcher interested in using our data, or adding research instruments to our platform, please refer to our non-commercial data program.

Work in academia? Apply for a free license!

At Sofar, we’re committed to advancing ocean research and innovation to build a more sustainable future for humanity. To this end, we’re supporting all scientists at sea in their ocean innovation efforts.
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