The Prince's Award highlights individuals whose projects and initiatives have triggered innovative activity in the field of philanthropy.

MONACO, MONACO, PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO, January 25, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- January 25, 2018 - Mr. Douglas Woodring, Founder and Managing Director of Ocean Recovery Alliance, has been awarded 2018 Prince’s Prize for Innovative Philanthropy by H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Ocean Recovery Alliance focuses on bringing together new ways of thinking, technologies, creativity, collaboration, and initiatives to help improve the ocean environment.

The Award is a global initiative jointly developed by The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and The Tocqueville Foundation. Its goal is to highlight projects and initiatives that have triggered innovative activity in the field of philanthropy, seeking out individuals and organizations that inspire others and demonstrate strong impact or potential impact.

Mr. Woodring received the award for his years of dedication, focus and persistence on reducing plastic pollution, and by doing so with creative, scalable programs that can be replicated across borders. It is one of the first NGOs to work with both the UN Environment (UNEP) and the World Bank on their respective programs aimed at reducing plastic pollution.

Mr. Woodring founded the Ocean Recovery Alliance with the strong conviction that improving the health of the global ocean require to bring together innovative solutions, technology, collaborations between the public and the private sector, national and multilateral policies, said H.S.H Prince Albert.

In 2010, Mr. Woodring announced two programs at the Clinton Global Initiative: the Plastic Disclosure Project (similar to carbon reporting), a breakthrough program which helps stakeholders to calculate the volumes of plastic used and recovered, and therefore how it can be better managed without waste; and Global Alert, an innovative App which engages communities to report trash hotspots of plastic waste before it reaches our waters, or the ocean. These initiatives continue to grow as the urgency increases on this global challenge, as their use by stakeholders around the world helps to engage resources on the problem. To date, the Global Alert app has that have been reported from more than 25 countries.

Mr. Woodring is also the founder of the Plasticity Forum, first launched in Rio de Janeiro at the Rio+20 Earth Summit, and since held in Hong Kong, New York, Portugal, Shanghai, London, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Sydney. This event gathers global experts from across the plastic spectrum to share experiences on opportunities with plastic sustainability and inclusion in the circular economy. Relevant to most sectors of the business community - design, innovation, materials, recycling and solutions - the event focuses on solutions for a world with a reduced waste footprint.

Mr. Woodring said. “We have taken a different, creative, yet realistic approach to solving this issue globally. Both programs can be used by anyone, in any country, without the need for bans, legislative changes or taxes. Each brings focus to the issue of plastic in its ‘afterlife’, either through use in a company or institutional setting, or via trash hotspots which need to be cleaned and prevented, via community engagement.”

H.SH. Prince Albert stated that “plastic pollution was probably one of the most urgent issues to address, given its tragic consequences on marine biodiversity and its adverse impact on human health”.

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has positioned ocean conservation at the heart of its mission and more than 60 % of its projects are dedicated to taking action in this field. Therefore he valued “the sound initiatives developed by the Ocean Recovery Alliance to reduce ocean pollutions”.

He stressed the fact that through the use of the Plastic Disclosure Project and the Global Alert Platform, “Mr. Woodring has structured innovative prevention programs for plastic waste reduction”, and “brought to light the power of dialogue and cooperation between the various stakeholders, from the citizens’ level to the business industry and the governmental levels, to minimize the amount of plastic spread into our environment and favor a better collection and recycling process.”

His Highness finally underlined the fact that “Mr. Woodring’s approach led to fruitful results, setting up a sound model which will hopefully be considered as an example to follow around the globe to protect our seas.”

Sandra Bensoussan
Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
+ 377.98.98.19.88
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