Safe Seaweed Coalition has been renamed into the Global Seaweed Coalition (GSC)
The Safe Seaweed Coalition has evolved into the Global Seaweed Coalition (GSC). The announcement was made on a occasion hosted by its founding partner, the United Nations Global Compact. With seaweed, the world can enjoy climate-positive food, feed, medicines, materials, and fuels. To realize this potential, global standards and regulations must be based on science-based safety and sustainability. The GSC will reflect an upscaled, responsible, and restorative seaweed sector that will play a significant role in achieving Global Goals by contributing to food safety and security and helping respond to climate and environmental crises.
“The potential of seaweed production has the rare combination of the scalability of local production, nature-based climate action and supporting local communities and economies over time,” said Erik Giercksky, UN Global Compact Head of Oceans.
The Coalition is changing its name to reflect the global scale-up we envision. Seaweed International’s mission is to facilitate the emergence of an international seaweed sector based on global safety standards. Four pillars will be implemented to achieve it: funding, advocacy, science, and policy.
Lloyd’s Register Foundation (the Foundation), co-founder and inaugural funder of the Coalition identified aquaculture and blue food industries as means of meeting the world’s looming food safety challenges in its Foresight Review on Food Safety. The Foundation recognized the importance of seaweed. By supporting Safe Seaweed Coalition, it has helped industry and regulators work together to scale up this industry safely and effectively.
“We look forward to seeing the Global Seaweed Coalition continue the good work of the Safe Seaweed Coalition, tackling the need for a safe and sustainable food source for a growing population, as well as other major benefits, and helping to advance the Foundation’s charitable mission,” said the Foundation’s Tim Slingsby.
The Coalition’s work was initially supported by the French National Research Centre (CNRS) enabling a deeper engagement with the UN Global Compact.
In addition to Compact’s global reach, its strong local network enables it to engage governments, local producers, the private sector, and other UN entities. Leveraging a unique network of global stakeholders will improve access to various public and private fundraising opportunities and support new partnerships.
Seaweed has gained tremendous momentum in the past two years through the Safe Seaweed Coalition, which has strengthened the representation of the value chain and its main drivers. UN summits on food systems, climate change, and biodiversity have led to unprecedented recognition of seaweed’s sustainability potential, allowing it to take its rightful place in policy conservation. The Coalition directly backs the sector’s growth: to date, we have granted €1.2 million in seed funding to 24 projects in 26 countries and attracted a further €2 million to support this work.
GSC has built partnerships and created alliances to mobilize seaweed support. It collaborates with the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition, a follow-up to the UN Food Systems Summit. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Oceans, Ambassador Peter Thomson, recognizes seaweed as a powerful nature-based solution.
The Coalition will be overseen by a Leadership Committee composed of representatives from the UN Global Compact, the Foundation, and CNRS. Two new bodies will provide complementary guidance to the Coalition’s governance structure: a Scientific Council and a Strategic Advisory Council. Independent academic researchers will make up the Scientific Council.
“Their unique expertise in the seaweed value chain will ensure our actions and funding priorities stay grounded in the most up-to-date seaweed science,” said Coalition Scientific Director Philippe Potin, who will chair the Scientific Council while continuing as Research Director at CNRS.
The Strategic Advisory Council will provide perspectives and guidance on seaweed and its role in the global economy, society, and environment. Experts drawn from fields such as economics, finance, the environment, climate, and food systems will serve alongside representatives of seaweed stakeholder groups such as value chain organizations (including organizations representing small-scale and Indigenous actors), international organizations, academia, governments, and Coalition financiers.
The Secretariat will support the Leadership Committee and the two advisory bodies. To strengthen the Secretariat, Senior Advisor Nichola Dyer will lead its work. A dedicated Science Officer will be recruited.
These changes will enable our Coalition to deliver an even greater impact and better position us to achieve our mission. This will help the seaweed sector scale up safely for workers, consumers, and the environment. Check out our website and social media for future developments announcements
