Tides That Bind Us: Oceanic Global on Advocacy, Culture, and Collective Impact

The ocean is more than a horizon, it’s a living system that regulates climate, sustains biodiversity, and produces much of the oxygen we breathe. 

This Earth Month, we turn our attention to that vital force in conversation with Oceanic Global and its founder, Lea d’Auriol, whose work is reshaping how ocean advocacy connects across culture, community, and everyday life.
Guided by conservation and creativity, Oceanic Global advances ocean literacy, ecosystem health, and climate resilience through storytelling, partnerships, and tangible solutions. Their approach invites a deeper kind of engagement, one that moves beyond awareness and into action, connection, and care.

That ethos comes to life through your stay. As a Mission Member, you have the opportunity to align your travels with the causes that matter most to you. When you select Oceanic Global as your mission partner, a portion of each qualifying stay is donated on your behalf, directly supporting their work across education, industry transformation, and on-the-ground conservation efforts.

But beyond contribution, there’s a deeper invitation at play: not only to support the ocean, but to reconnect with it. We spoke with Lea about the emotional roots of advocacy, the power of collective action, and how small, intentional shifts can ripple outward in ways that truly matter.

Making Waves with Lea d'Auriol, Founder of Oceanic Global

Oceanic Global operates at the intersection of conservation, culture, and community. What first drew you to ocean advocacy, and how has that initial spark shaped the way you approach your work today?

We all rely on a healthy ocean - it regulates our climate, feeds billions of people, and produces half the oxygen we breathe. It is the foundation of life on Earth. And yet it is taking the brunt of our actions. For me, advocacy has always started from a place of wonder, from wanting to protect something of profound beauty that we simply cannot afford to lose. And the truth is, there is still so much to protect. That is what keeps me going.

I grew up in a family of sailors, with the ocean as my happy place. The place I felt most myself, most alive. And growing up in Hong Kong, I understood early what human impact on the environment really means. You see it. You can't avoid it. When the Paris Climate Agreement was being negotiated, something crystallized for me: the ocean is absolutely central to our planet being in balance, and I felt like I couldn't wait around for someone else to do something.

But I also couldn't unsee what I'd seen: the bleaching, the plastic, the silence spreading across reefs that used to hum with life. That tension, the love for the ocean, and what was happening to it, shaped everything about how we built Oceanic Global. We've always believed the gap isn't just scientific or political - it's emotional. People protect what they love and can feel. So we designed OG to reconnect people back to the ocean and to provide solutions at every level  because we have all the tools and opportunities to design our way out of the mess we've created. That spark, that sense of love, grief, and possibility held together, is still the heart of everything we do.

From plastic pollution to rising sea levels, the challenges facing our oceans are vast. Where do you see the most meaningful opportunity for change right now and what’s helping drive that progress?

I believe change has to happen at all levels, and we need everyone — individuals, communities, businesses, governments — making decisions with the ocean and nature in mind. With so much shifting in our current systems, the first step is recognizing the opportunities and the endless possibilities that exist when we choose to act.

For me, one of the most powerful levers right now is industry. Businesses hold the procurement power, the operational scale, and the consumer reach to shift entire markets. That's exactly why we built the Blue Standard — a clear, independently verified path from intention to ocean-positive action. We've worked with 400+ businesses across 58 countries, helped eliminate over a million pounds of plastic from business operations, and contributed to more than 30 international policies. That's not a symbolic change. That's supply chains actually moving.

But what gives me the most hope is when culture and business move together — when guests start asking questions, when employees demand accountability, when artists and scientists and community leaders are in the same room. That's when the pace changes. The opportunity is in connecting those worlds, which is exactly what partnerships like ours with 1 Hotels make possible.

For guests who choose to support Oceanic Global through their stay, how does that contribution translate into tangible impact?

At Oceanic Global, we think about change across three interconnected layers: shifting hearts and minds, transforming systems and industries, and protecting and restoring the ecosystems themselves. Real, lasting change requires all three working together and that's what every contribution helps sustain.

When guests support OG through their stay at 1 Hotels, their contribution moves through that whole system. It helps us create the cultural programming and storytelling that deepens people's connection to the ocean. It advances the Blue Standard, ensuring that businesses, including the ones guests interact with every day, are operating with genuine accountability. And it helps fund the community-led conservation work that protects and restores the ecosystems that need it most.

In 2026, our partnership with 1 Hotels goes deeper on both education and Blue Standard - expanding what's possible across both. Ultimately, this is about more than impact metrics. It's about ensuring that the ocean and the extraordinary web of life it sustains, is here for the generations that come after us. When a guest chooses a hotel that holds itself accountable, they become part of that longer story.

A core part of your work focuses on shifting everyday behaviors. What are a few small, accessible changes people can make that truly add up when it comes to protecting our oceans?

The first thing I'd say is: find your way back to water. Form a real relationship with it — swim in it, sit beside it, learn about it. Care and love are the foundation of everything. You make different choices when you are genuinely connected.

From there, look honestly at what you're consuming and where your money goes. Going plastic-free is a meaningful start, but it's worth going further — looking at where you bank, what you eat, which brands you support, and whether the institutions in your life are aligned with a healthy planet or working against it. Every purchase and every financial decision is a vote.

I'd also encourage people to look at their spheres of influence. Think about the organisation or business you're part of — are there practices you could help shift? Procurement decisions, supplier choices, operational habits? Individual action matters, but so does the collective action you can help catalyse from the inside.

And finally, feel yourself as part of your earth community. A small donation, a volunteer afternoon, a petition signed — none of it is too small. The ocean needs a constituency of people who feel connected to it. That's what changes policy, shifts industry, and builds the future we need.

Earth Month creates a moment to pause and reconnect with the natural world. How is Oceanic Global inviting individuals and communities to engage more meaningfully with ocean conservation during this time?

For us, every day is Earth Month. But this is also a beautiful invitation for us all to pause, to connect, to learn, and to steward. Those moments of collective attention matter.

On the cultural side, we're bringing our Short Film Festival to audiences in New York, London, and through partner venues around the world — using storytelling as a catalyst to reconnect people with the ocean and inspire action. We're hosting Ocean Dialogues, bringing together scientists, artists, activists, and community voices across disciplines that don't usually share a room. And we're offering embodied experiences — intimate, multi-sensory activations designed to move people beyond information into genuine felt connection with the natural world.

Behind the scenes, Earth Month is also when we're deepening our work with the Blue Standard — supporting businesses in raising their accountability — expanding our grants to frontline communities doing critical conservation work, and advancing advocacy efforts that shape the policies and protections the ocean urgently needs.

Through our partnership with 1 Hotels, guests have a direct way into all of it — not just as witnesses, but as part of making it possible. We don't want conservation to feel like something happening somewhere else, to someone else. Earth Month is an open invitation to step in.

Continue the Impact

Every stay is an opportunity to give back. Through Mission Membership, you can support Oceanic Global and help protect our oceans with every visit, turning travel into meaningful, measurable change.