This year the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report identified biodiversity loss and human environmental damage as two of the biggest risks to the global economy.

Continued business-as-usual approaches will result in reduced natural capital－such as fish from the sea－and disruptions in supply chains. These pose a risk to most businesses, even those that indirectly rely on the ocean, as more than half of global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature.

Demand for sustainable investment increasing

Pressure is building on unsustainable businesses to disclose climate-and nature-related risks. With credit rating agencies mainstreaming sustainability assessments and transition planning, and global accounting standards being updated to ensure inclusion of sustainability risks, there is simply no place to hide.

Also, the financial sector is seeing unprecedented demand for sustainable investment opportunities. Partly due to the ongoing pandemic, the growth of funds focused on sustainability is shattering records－and global agreements are being forged to remove harmful subsidies that support unsustainable businesses.

These trends should come as no surprise. "Blue ocean" was flagged as a metaphor for a space for limitless business opportunities as early as 2005, when W. Chan Kim and Rénee Mauborgne published the ground-breaking book, Blue Ocean Strategy. They contended that many companies were competing in so-called "red ocean" established markets with an existing number of competitors and often razor-thin margins, such as low-cost family cars.

Conversely, they argued, "blue ocean" markets provide an underdeveloped business space ripe for innovation with vast opportunities for sustainable and profitable growth－for instance the fully electric cars developed by Tesla Motors.

This potential is rapidly being realized. Businesses now have a choice: compete in crowded markets of the "red ocean" with increasing financial, climate and nature-related risks, or explore the largely uncontested potential of blue ocean.