Partners and funders

Global mission partners are our biggest sponsors. These companies have made big commitments spanning multiple years. As cleaning up the oceans is a long game, we appreciate the long-term support of these partners.

Our global mission partners right now are:

Maersk

Maersk has supported us since our very first cleanup system, System 001, in 2018. This support was formalized in a partnership in 2021. We make use of 2 vessels from Maersk Supply Service to tow our cleanup system and A.P. Moller – Maersk’s logistics capabilities for both our ocean and rivers based activities. The AP Moller Foundation kindly provides The Ocean Cleanup with financial support.

Press release on partnership extension in 2021
Press release on extension in 2024

KIA

In 2022, Kia committed to a 7-year partnership with us. In this time period, we will explore what can be made with the plastic we catch in the ocean, and how this can be implemented in their cars. In 2024, Kia produced the first-ever car accessory made using plastic extracted from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Press release on partnership announcement.

Deloitte

Deloitte has supported us since 2018 by providing pro-bono consulting. The projects they have worked on over the years have involved almost every department in The Ocean Cleanup.

The Government of the Netherlands

The Government of the Netherlands has shown its support from the early days. For example, they allowed us to use a testing site in the North Sea, where we have deployed multiple prototypes in the past. Since 2018, they have also supported us by offering us to sail under the Dutch flag in the ocean. Learn more about them in this update.

Macquarie

Macquarie granted us funds from 2018 for 5 years. Organizations worldwide could apply to their 50th anniversary, after which they selected 5 winners. Learn more on their website.

Societe Generale

Societe Generale is supporting us with funds for a period of 3 years.

Cultural partners help spread awareness for plastic pollution, and for the solutions The Ocean Cleanup develops and scales. The Ocean Cleanup relies heavily on word-of-mouth to spread the mission, and with the help of cultural partners like Coldplay and TeamSeas, our message can be seen by a wider audience than we would be able to reach ourselves.

Besides sponsoring Interceptor 005 in Klang, Malaysia, and Interceptor 020 in Indonesia, Coldplay also talks about us during their tours. Coldplay showcases The Ocean Cleanup at all their concerts, reaching a massive audience of Coldplay fans.

In June 2024, Coldplay and The Ocean Cleanup announced a product they’ve collaborated on: a limited ‘Notebook Edition’ of Coldplay’s latest LP, manufactured using recycled river plastic intercepted by The Ocean Cleanup.

#TeamSeas was an influencer campaign created by YouTubers Mark Rober and Mr Beast. Their aim was to raise 30 million USD to remove 30 million US pounds of trash from beaches and the ocean. The funds raised went to The Ocean Cleanup and Ocean Conservancy. Although the campaign has ended, people still donate on the TeamSeas website, and we are still making use of the funds for the projects they sponsored.

Deploying an Interceptor in a river “takes a village”, as the expression goes. We need permits to operate from the local government, an assigned operator who can manage the day-to-day cleanup, local funders that can make the whole project possible, help in researching the environment and the society pre- and post deployment, and a community momentum to keep the projects going. This is much easier when you have people on-location who knows the lay of the land, and who already has warm connections. The UNDP is a global deployment partner of ours, with representatives all over the world. We also have more local forces that have been instrumental in the success of the cleanup projects, such as the Grace Kennedy Foundation and Clean Harbours Limited in Jamaica.