OUR STRATEGIC
IMPACT
PILLARS
Supporting industry growth, informing policy and strengthening Australia’s position as a global leader in the sustainable blue economy.
COMPETITION FOR OCEAN SPACE IS INTENSIFYING
COMPETITION FOR
OCEAN SPACE IS INTENSIFYING
Global demand for secure, low-emissions energy and sustainable seafood is growing rapidly and competition for ocean space is intensifying.
The Blue Economy CRC is tackling the technical, environmental, regulatory, and commercial challenges of operating in high-energy, offshore environments. These remote ocean settings present significant opportunities, but success requires new technologies, robust infrastructure, and innovative systems that are commercially viable, environmentally sound and socially responsible.
Since inception, we have progressed from foundational studies to high-impact projects. Our growing network of real-world demonstrations – from offshore aquaculture to wave and hydrogen energy pilots – showcases our ability to deliver results and scale innovation.
To define and measure our impact, we have established five Impact Pillars.
These Impact Pillars ensure our research creates lasting value – supporting industry growth, informing policy, and strengthening Australia’s position as a global leader in the sustainable blue economy.
Impact Pillar 1
Developing Open Ocean Aquaculture
Impact Pillar 2
Accelerating Decarbonisation in the Blue Economy
Contributing to the development and adoption of hydrogen as a fuel source particularly for blue economy industries including optimising DC microgrids, demonstrating the use of hydrogen for terrestrial and marine application, supporting maritime decarbonisation, developing a skilled workforce and improving community acceptability and understanding.
Impact Pillar 3
Scaling Offshore Energy Developments
Demonstrating opportunities for the development of offshore renewable energy – including offshore wind and wave energy – as a key enabler of decarbonisation, particularly through novel off-grid applications. This includes addressing community acceptance, supporting fit-for-purpose planning and licensing frameworks, understanding supply chains, and developing and demonstrating technologies that contribute to net-zero emissions targets.
Impact Pillar 4
Integrating Ocean Use
Demonstrating opportunities for the development of offshore renewable energy – including offshore wind and wave energy – as a key enabler of decarbonisation, particularly through novel off-grid applications. This includes addressing community acceptance, supporting fit-for-purpose planning and licensing frameworks, understanding supply chains, and developing and demonstrating technologies that contribute to net-zero emissions targets.
SUCCESS
We will assess our success in each of our impact pillars against the following measures:
Demonstratable Return on Investment
Our partners and the community are measurably better off through the application and utilisation of Blue Economy CRC research and activities.
Economic Value Creation
We provide the knowledge and innovation to create a step-change in the economic value of Australia’s blue economy.
Global Leadership
We are recognised as a globally trusted source of blue economy knowledge, capability and expertise.
Sustainable Legacy
We successfully position the Blue Economy CRC for continued impact and relevance, beyond our funding lifecycle.
SUSTAINABILITY
Growing a sustainable blue economy represents one of the greatest opportunities of our time and is critical to achieving the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development while building stronger ocean economies, healthier ecosystems and more resilient communities.
We define sustainability as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. The High-Level Oceans Panel extends this concept to ‘the use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems and associated services’.
Just as oceans are seamless, so is our approach. We have developed core principles that guide our approach to sustainability. The principles enable us to adopt a consistent approach to inform our efforts, as well as how we will promote, support, reflect and communicate sustainability across our work.
Sustainability and environment, social and governance (ESG) considerations are embedded in everything we do, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have identified where our Impact Pillars contribute to the relevant Sustainable Development Goals.
