Environment

Adobe Joins Forces With the United Nations Environment Programme and The Ocean Agency to Create Change in Ocean Conservation

Join the #OceanLeague wave of support using creativity and color to protect the world’s oceans
Aug 20, 2020 5:30 PM ET
Campaign: Tech for Good

Originally published by Adobe

Our oceans are facing a perfect storm of pollution, overfishing, and climate change, and these threats have pushed ecosystems such as coral reefs to the tipping point of collapse. Over half a billion people globally rely on coral reefs for food and income. And so, with international conservation targets being set for the next decade at upcoming events, creating change has never been more urgent.

At Adobe, we know that creativity has the power to change the world. Creativity is what brings us together, unites us and now more than ever, it is being used to speak out, to show support, and as a means to create change towards a more sustainable future.  

Our mission has always been to create products that empower people to change the world. It’s for that reason that Adobe is proud to be partnering with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The Ocean Agency on a new global awareness campaign called Ocean League, bringing people from all around the world together through creativity and color, to rally support for ocean conservation and stronger climate action.

The Ocean League pledge, powered by Adobe Sign, is easy to access and e-sign from any device, capturing people’s desire for greater ocean protection. Additionally, Adobe has created specially designed ocean-themed Adobe Photoshop Camera lenses, giving everyone the opportunity to express their creativity and share unique images to show their support. Using Adobe tools, Ocean League aims to inspire support through creativity and gather more than a million pledges to influence policymaking at major climate events in 2021.

“In this moment, the power of creativity and the ability for it to have a global impact has never been more relevant,” said Adobe VP Brand Marketing, John Travis. “Adobe is committed to inspiring and enabling creativity for all, so that together we can create change. We are so proud to support UNEP and The Ocean Agency and empower the global community to take action towards ocean conservation.”

“Not enough attention and support is being paid to taking care of this vitally important ecosystem so that it can, in turn, take care of us,” said UNEP’s Leticia Carvalho. “We need to be far more creative in our approach to create a groundswell of popular support and action for the ocean.”

“We know that a positive show of mass support including global brands and celebrities can inspire the policy and funding commitments we need from governments,” said The Ocean Agency CEO, Richard Vevers.

The Ocean League campaign starts with mobilizing the global community to use the new Adobe Photoshop Camera ocean lenses and share their unique designs on social media using #OceanLeague. UN Ambassadors, influencers and ocean advocates showcasing their creativity and joining Ocean League include: UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall, with UNEP Ambassadors Alice Eve, Raisa Andriana and Hamish Daud, Amanda Cerny, Philippe and Ashlan Cousteau, Rocky Dawuni, Shawn Heinrichs, Nadya Hutagalung, Dana Melanie, Dia Mirza, Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen, Alex Rendell, Antoinette Taus, and Yaya Touré, as well as ocean advocates Julie Lake and Rob Machado.

On September 30, 2020, the UN Biodiversity Summit will take place, marking the start of a year packed with international conferences where conservation targets for the next decade will be determined - described as “the Super Year for the Ocean” by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson. The campaign artwork will be promoted to inspire global support for action and showcased at key environment decision-making events, with the specific goal of getting coral reefs and oceans prioritized in the Post-2020 framework at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2021 (CoP15). More details can be found at glowing.org.  

The Ocean League initiative builds on the success of the #GlowingGone campaign, a collaboration between Adobe, Pantone and The Ocean Agency, using the colors of fluorescing corals to raise awareness of the threat climate change poses to this ecosystem. The imagery used as inspiration for the Adobe Photoshop Camera lenses is inspired by the Glowing Glowing Gone colors and can be found within the Adobe Stock collection. 

Adobe has called on businesses and governments to come together to put climate action at the forefront of COVID-19 recovery efforts. CEO Shantanu Narayen joined more than 150 business leaders in advocating that we “Recover Better,” and Adobe also joined the LEAD on Climate 2020 initiative to ask members of the U.S. Congress to pass a resilient economic recovery plan that includes long-term climate solutions.

Learn more about the ways we’re supporting sustainability: