QUESTION: What happens when the scion of a diversified multinational corporation in Singapore with roots in the shipping industry meets the founder of OceanX, a non-profit ocean exploration programme based in New York?
Answer: They talk about oceans and sustainability, of course, as well as what the shipping sector and corporates with the resources and business strategies can do in these areas.
That businessman is Chavalit Frederick Tsao, who chairs Tsao Pao Chee (TPC), a family business that aims to “serve the well-being of life”. Seeing an opportunity for TPC to make a difference in sustainability, the fourth-generation business leader got the wheels turning to fund OceanX’s research mission to Indonesia.
Tsao met the OceanX founder at a dinner event organised by Philanthropy Asia Alliance, a Temasek Trust initiative.
Mark Dalio, who set up the non-profit ocean exploration initiative with his father, Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates, said that their values resonated with each other, as “our work (revolved) around the ocean and sustainability pillar”.
Tsao concurred and added: “I came to the realisation that sustainable shipping is all about decarbonisation, (but) we never think about restoring the ocean.”
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But that possibility is within reach with OceanX’s research vessel.
Given just a few litres of seawater, the labs on board the 87 metre-long research ship can analyse and report on the marine ecosystem in a particular area – this includes identifying the animal and plant species that were there in the past week. Named the OceanXplorer, it can research waters up to 6,000 m deep with the aid of a remotely operated underwater vehicle. It also has submersibles which allow exploration up to a depth of 1,000 m.
The preliminary results gathered on the Indonesia voyage – which was conducted with researchers from the country’s National Research and Innovation Agency – have been presented to the government there.
This kind of data may be useful to governments, given that biodiversity and fisheries are among countries’ main economic drivers, noted Mark Dalio.
He also hopes that more marine restoration work can be done, using the information gathered by OceanX. “For example, corals in the Red Sea can survive under a much higher temperature than those elsewhere, and studying them could be the key to mitigating coral bleaching.”
Tsao has another point to make based on TPC’s partnership with OceanX – that family businesses can step up and even collaborate to create a bigger impact on sustainability.
He noted that this collaboration is important because family businesses – which typically belong to older families with foundations – are well-versed in the art of business, and have established protocols to execute projects more quickly. “It is my belief that family businesses are going to lead the way,” he said.
Referring to ESG – or environmental, social, and governance – factors, he added: “ESG is ‘do less harm’, but impact investing is ‘do more good’. They are not separable. We think of ESG as some sort of compliance and… social demand, (but there needs to be a change in the mindset).”
The OceanX initiative goes beyond working with and training scientists on how to best utilise the equipment in the countries where the OceanXplorer makes stops. It is also targeting education by gathering students in these different places to learn about ocean conservation and restoration, thus sowing the seeds of sustainability.
Tsao said there are talks to see if an ocean fund can be created, and that TPC will focus on education and getting people interested in careers such as ocean engineering, because jobs that involve “restoring nature” will be the future of business.
The younger Dalio agreed, and said that the next stop will be the Philippines in December, where there will be education programmes, such as education tours aboard the OceanXplorer.
This initiative comes after the fifth edition of Young Explorers that took place in Indonesia over five days in July 2024 while the OceanXplorer was in the country for the mission. “It became almost like a mini United Nations group as the programme (comprised) a mix of students from Indonesia, the US, Singapore, and the Philippines,” added Mark Dalio.
