11th Our Oceans Conference 2026

Marine Plastic Pollution: Turning the Tide Business Forum 11th Our Ocean Conference · Mombasa, Kenya, 14th –18th June 2026 

A Message from Joyce Gachugi-Waweru, CEO, PAKPRO 

The Indian Ocean does not recognize borders. A bottle discarded on the streets of Nairobi, and one dropped at the port of Mombasa will both find their way to the same sea – carried by the same rivers, the same runoff, the same indifference. Marine plastic pollution is, by its very nature, a transboundary crisis: currents do not stop at coastlines, and the consequences of poor waste management in one country are borne by the fisheries, ecosystems, and coastal communities of many others. 

Kenya alone generates 2,400 tonnes of plastic waste every day. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is the policy framework designed to interrupt that pipeline before it reaches the water. By placing legal and financial obligation on the producers of plastic packaging – not on the communities left to manage it – EPR funds the recovery infrastructure that a circular economy requires and directs resources directly into the hands of the Kenyans collecting, sorting, and recycling that packaging every single day. 

But policy architecture alone is not enough. EPR only delivers its full potential when the communities on the frontline are recognized as architects of the circular economy, not simply as its casualties. The women sorting waste at collection points in Mtwapa, the youth cooperatives running balers in Kilifi, the fisher communities protecting seagrass beds in Lamu – they are not waiting to be saved. They are already leading. 

That is the case PAKPRO and WWF-Kenya are bringing to the 11th Our Ocean Conference, one of the most consequential global forums for ocean governance and marine environmental commitments. Through the Marine Plastic Pollution: Turning the Tide Business Forum, we are participating in precisely the kind of multilateral space where transboundary challenges demand transboundary solutions. It is where governments, the private sector, civil society, and ocean advocates sit in the same room and are held to account for the pledges they make. 

At OOC11, we are not arriving with promises. We are presenting proof and extending a clear invitation to the world to invest in the people who have already begun the work. 

#Recycle4Growth 

About the 11th Our Ocean Conference 

The Our Ocean Conference is the world’s foremost gathering on ocean protection, convening heads of state, ministers, development finance institutions, conservation leaders, and the private sector to make concrete, witnessed, and measurable commitments to the health of the global ocean. First held in 2014, the Conference has mobilized over USD 100 billion in ocean commitments across its ten preceding editions, making it the single most consequential platform for translating ocean ambition into ocean action. 

OOC11 takes place in Mombasa, Kenya in June 2026, this is the first time the conference has been held on the African continent placing Kenya’s coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and emerging circular economy at the centre of the global ocean governance agenda. For Kenya, OOC11 is not simply a hosting honour. It is an opportunity to showcase to the world a circular economy model that is built by Africans for Africa, community-built, industry-funded, and ready to scale. 

Who We Are – PAKPRO at a Glance 

PAKPRO is Kenya’s leading Packaging Producer Responsibility Organisation, incorporated in 2018 and operating under the Sustainable Waste Management Act 2022 and the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations 2024. With over 400 member companies, PAKPRO manages the recovery of all post-consumer packaging in Kenya — connecting producers to aggregators, recyclers, and coastal communities through a system that generates livelihoods, not just compliance. 

Since inception, PAKPRO has recovered 54,000 metric tonnes of PET, distributed KES 210 million to waste actors across Kenya, activated 300+ aggregators trading with 6,000+ waste pickers, and built a recovery network spanning all 47 counties. At OOC11, this track record becomes Kenya’s contribution to the global ocean conversation. 

The Forum – Marine Plastic Pollution: Turning the Tide 

PAKPRO is hosting one side event at OOC11 – the Marine Plastic Pollution: Turning the Tide Business Forum – convened under the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs on the 16 June 2026 at PrideInn Hotel, Mombasa. The Forum is a single, structured programme comprising a thematic session that examines the full circular economy response to marine plastic pollution around community livelihoods and blue economy financing. More information here: Official OOC11 Side Events – Our Ocean Kenya 

The Forum deliberately traces actions from upstream obligations – what producers must do – through community evidence and technology solutions, to the financing architecture needed to sustain it all.  

 Partners at OOC11 

The organisations standing with PAKPRO at the Turning the Tide Business Forum represent every critical point in Kenya’s packaging and recovery value chain. 

Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs – the national convening authority whose endorsement positions the Forum as Kenya’s official contribution to OOC11’s ocean governance agenda. 

WWF-Kenya – the leading conservation body whose decade of community-strengthening work across Mombasa, Kilifi, and Lamu counties provides the evidence base and community relationships that anchor Session 2 of the Forum. 

Naivas – Kenya’s most trusted and most visited retail network, whose shelf presence makes post-consumer packaging recovery a daily reality for millions of Kenyan consumers. 

Well Shed Group Limited (Grange Park) – Wellshed Group Limited is a proudly Kenyan brand pioneering the production and distribution of functional hydration products under the brand name Grange Park. Our vision is clear: To Be East Africa’s leading carbon-conscious and circular-economy hydration company by 2030. As the Official Hydration Partner of the PAKPRO Marine Plastic Pollution Side Event and Exhibition Pavilion, we are proud to support Kenya’s leadership in advancing circular economy solutions, responsible production, and environmental stewardship. 

Gold Crown Beverages – a significant Kenyan beverage producer whose PAKPRO membership demonstrates that high-volume packaging operations and responsible recovery are entirely compatible. 

Coastal Bottlers – one of Kenya’s most important coastal beverage producers, whose participation in this Forum connects production directly to the ocean environment it has a responsibility to protect. 

Dormans – a brand synonymous with Kenyan quality across hospitality and retail, demonstrating that sustainability credentials enhance rather than constrain commercial excellence. 

County Government of Mombasa – the county authority with direct governance over coastal waste infrastructure, signaling that the Turning the Tide Business Forum is not a civil society initiative awaiting government buy-in. It is a government priority awaiting the right investment partners. 

Partner Innovation Highlights