Plankton, Plastic, and Collective Impact: In Conversation with Becky Irish

“All those individual actions that might have felt small have added up to over a billion plastic bottles’ worth of ocean-bound plastic weight collected. Keep going, do the little things – collectively, we make a massive difference.” – Becky Irish

While terrestrial carbon offset projects dominate the headlines, the ocean remains our planet’s primary carbon sink – yet marine conservation funding lags behind. As the former Managing Director of Ocean Co., Becky Irish spent her career building funding mechanisms that protect marine ecosystems and empower everyday consumers and businesses to stop plastic pollution at the source.

We sat down with Becky to talk about microplastics disrupting marine life, embedding impact into everyday products, and how surfing helps people fall in love with ocean protection.

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Snapshot Profile

• Name: Becky Irish
• Role: Impact Leader | Former Managing Director at Ocean Co.
• Specialism: Corporate Sustainability Integration, Ocean-Bound Plastic Recovery, & Scale Impact
• Key Milestone: Helped facilitate the collection of over 1 billion plastic bottles’ worth of ocean-bound waste

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The Interview

Why is conserving and protecting the oceans so critical to climate strategy?

Becky: There are plenty of carbon projects based on land, but funding for ocean projects is relatively small – which I find mad, considering the ocean is our largest carbon sink!

The ocean absorbs carbon primarily through plankton sequestering it. However, with so much plastic pollution in the water, plankton are eating microplastics and dying, losing their ability to sequester carbon. This directly threatens the ocean’s ability to act as a climate buffer. If we have any hope of fighting climate change, protecting our ocean is essential.

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How did Ocean Co. turn ordinary transactions into ocean protection?

Becky: Ocean Co. was born out of Ocean Bottle. While Ocean Bottle funds the collection of 1,000 plastic bottles worth of ocean-bound waste for every reusable bottle sold, Ocean Co. took that model and scaled it across any product or service.

Whether it was a cup of coffee, an event ticket, or a corporate service, any business could directly fund plastic collection. We partnered with organizations ranging from Grind Coffee to Goldman Sachs and Aqualibra to embed plastic collection straight into their business models.

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How can the surfing community help drive ocean action?

Becky: People protect what they love. You love your family, so you want to protect them – and surfing helps people fall in love with the ocean organically.

I can talk about geeky ocean plankton, but that isn’t going to resonate with everyone. Surfing resonates with millions. The more the surf industry can get people into the water, building an appreciation for the ocean, the more our message that the ocean is under threat will land.

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Becky’s Inspiration & Recommendations

Recommended Mailing List & Resource

• Ocean Bottle Book Club (oceanbottle.co/pages/ob-book-club): A monthly curated email sharing books, podcasts, and documentaries on ocean health and environmental impact. It’s a newsletter you’ll actually look forward to reading!

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Final Thought

Becky: “Talking about sustainability can feel disheartening, and it’s easy to wonder if individual actions matter. But through Ocean Bottle and Ocean Co., I saw the power of collective impact firsthand. Individual purchases added up to over a billion plastic bottles kept out of our seas. Do the little things – collectively, we make a difference.”