Contributed by Steven A. Culbertson
I am fortunate that two of the world’s biggest champions for ocean conservation are friends and fellow fraternity brothers of Chi Psi Fraternity. I met Albert Grimaldi (better known today as His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco) at the Chi Psi Lodge at Amherst College. After graduating from Hamilton College, where I had also joined Chi Psi, I split the next two years between working in Monaco in the summers, and for the Chi Psi Headquarters during the school year. I visited Prince Albert in Martinique when he served in the French Navy after graduation, and our paths continue to cross today in both the States and the Principality.
I met Fisk Johnson (also known as Dr. Herbert Fisk Johnson III, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson) at the Chi Psi Lodge at Cornell University. Fisk encouraged me to become a certified scuba diver and join a gang of Chi Psis on dive adventures around the world. Our Fisk-led trips have taken us from the Galapagos to the Red Sea; from the Caribbean to the South China Sea; and from the Bahamas to the isolated Pacific islands of Cocos, Truk, and Palau.
The three of us met for this interview in the Prince’s Palace high atop “The Rock,” overlooking Monaco’s harbor and the mountains of France. The occasion was Monaco Ocean Week 2023. We had just spent the day participating in rich keynotes and presentations given at the famous Oceanographic Museum, perched across from the Palace on a cliff facing the Mediterranean Sea. We discussed family, work, and why advocacy toward saving the oceans is such a critical priority for them both.
SC: Thanks for having us, Your Serene Highness. We are here for Monaco Ocean Week ‘23, an incredible gathering of scientists, corporate leaders, NGOs, and government officials from around the world. The subject is Goal 14 of the United Nation’s Sustainable 17 Development Goals, better known as “Life Below Water”.
Prince Albert, let’s start with you. Of all the issues facing the world and the planet – and with all the demands on your time as a father, husband, and head of state – why Goal 14? There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and you could have picked any issue on which to spend your time. Why ocean and marine conservation?
HSH: Let me say, first of all, what a pleasure it is to have you both here at the Palace. And for this very important week. I would say that all 17 Sustainable Development Goals are important, and while no one seemed to listen at first, we have all known for many years how important the oceans are for our survival on this planet. Thank goodness there was an awakening at COP 21 (Conference of the Parties on Climate Change) in Paris in 2015. For the first time, oceans were part of the dialogue by both leaders and scientists. It was already well understood that we could not get Goal 14 on the top of the agenda, but thanks to a few countries – and Monaco was one of them – there was a day devoted to oceans, starting in Paris and now, ever since. Also, there was a special report on the oceans in 2019, pre-COVID. That really helped, raising awareness and starting to put in place some solutions. Quite frankly, and not to be too long on this: No healthy ocean; no healthy ocean ecosystems; no healthy planet; and no great survival rate for our species.
SC: How did you figure that out? By just growing up here in Monaco and living next to the Mediterranean Sea every day?
HSH: Well, different things happened along the way. Of course, it helped living down the road from one of the greatest museums in the world, the Monaco Oceanographic Museum. Talking to the people involved, such as the Museum Director, Jacques Cousteau, starting when I was six years old really helped. Then being with my father (Prince Rainier III), not only navigating in the Mediterranean, but going to different international meetings such as the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM) started by my great grandfather, Prince Albert I, in 1910. My father was Chairman, and now I am.
Monaco was very instrumental in setting up marine protected areas, including the Pelagos Sanctuary (a protected marine area of 34,000 square miles between Italy, Monaco, and France); the ACCOBAMS Agreement for both the Mediterranean and Black Sea countries, plus the whole adjacent area in the Atlantic Ocean. That’s for the protection of the big mammal groups of cetaceans, like whales and dolphins. Finally, there’s the RAMOGE Agreement, which protects against pollution along the coast between France, Monaco, and Italy.
So, my father really spearheaded those efforts. And I learned by going with him to the Rio Earth Summit (Brazil, 1992), which was hugely successful in raising visibility for the environment. So, it was all these things that built up and continue to raise my own awareness. They helped me want to be more involved, setting up my foundation (http://FPA2.org) on these issues. I soon realized by talking to the different international organizations how important it would be to focus attention on our one and only global ocean.
SC: Fisk, same question. You are both a scientist and a businessman. With the demands of your own family, your thousands of employees, and daily running one of the largest private family companies in the world, why is Goal 14 so important to you?
FJ: First, let me say I’m honored to be attending this global initiative here in Monaco and honored to be with you here at the Palace having this conversation. You know, I would echo many of Prince Albert’s sentiments. I view the degradation of the health of our ocean ecosystems as one of the top five existential threats to human existence on this planet. The oceans produce the majority of oxygen in the world; they are a major source of food; and the fundamental processes of the ocean, including the nitrogen and carbon cycle, carbon sequestration, and others, significantly impact terrestrial ecosystems. So, as the ocean goes, so does humanity go. It’s an incredibly important issue.
And marine conservation is also personal in some respects because I’ve been diving for more than 45 years. I personally had the opportunity to see firsthand how the ocean ecosystem has degraded over the years, and it’s incredibly worrisome to me. So, it’s an important issue, it’s a personal issue, and I want my daughter and everybody’s children to have the same opportunity to grow up in the beautiful world we had.
SC: You both have traveled the world’s oceans far and wide, and even deep down in submarines. Where and what has been your biggest surprise?
FJ: My biggest surprise is the testing I have done for microplastics in the ocean. And it is shocking to me to see how pervasive it is. I have tested for plastic all over the world, from the Arctic, to the straits of Magellan, to far reaches of the Pacific Ocean. I even tested for it in the middle of the Sahara Desert in Niger, and I found it everywhere. Just for example, you and I were 300 miles off the coast of Costa Rica in Cocos Island National Park, in the most pristine looking area, with 150 feet of visibility in the water, and not a sign of any plastic or any pollution. And then we test the water, and you see literally thousands of particles of plastic.
The minimum concentration I’ve seen is 2,000 particles per cubic meter of water. That’s the minimum I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Think about the marine life that has to live in that; especially the filter feeders, like mollusks, crustaceans, and various fish. And it gets into the food chain, and then we eat it, and it gets into us! There was a study done by the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, where they tested people’s blood, and it was inside the majority of people who they tested. No one knows the health consequences of that.
SC: Prince Albert, you have also traveled far, wide, and deep. What has surprised you?
HSH: I’ve noticed the same things scuba diving. But the most frightening thing was when I did the bathyscaphe dive with explorer Victor Vescovo in the deepest part of the Mediterranean, the Calypso Deep off Kalamata, Greece. We were down more than 16,700 feet. And the only three things we saw were deep sea translucent shrimp, some metal stick that must have fallen off a boat, and then different plastics on the bottom, including a plastic bag and bottle. And Victor, who has done dives in all the deepest parts of the world, including the Mariana Trench, said that he saw plastic down there as well.
So, we feared this, but to see it firsthand does put it in perspective. And we are, if we don’t find solutions rapidly, going to be in huge trouble. If we’re not already. So, we have to find alternatives. Plastic was a great invention; I’m not trying to knock it. Plastic served a lot of purposes and that’s great, but no one studied how to get rid of it, how to reuse it, and how to recycle it. It’s only in recent years we have looked at that, and not every plastic can be recycled.
SC: Prince Albert, you come from a long line of Grimaldis who have influenced your own environmental efforts. We already talked some about your father, but tell us more about the “Explorer Prince,” Albert I, whom you were named for, and who was known more than a century ago for his scientific research. He raised the alarm about this subject, and he is considered the father of modern oceanography.
HSH: Prince Albert I was a great influence and was such an incredible visionary in his day. In 1903, he was the first to talk about the possible dangers of overfishing, after he went to the Azores and saw unsustainable fishing practices. They were starting to have larger fishing boats with really big nets. Over 100 years ago, he concluded that this could not continue at such a large scale; it was going to destroy the fish stocks. And that happened. He was then the first one to talk about the need for marine and terrestrial protected areas in national parks, especially in France. He had this incredible vision of nature and what our relationship to nature should be.
He led and financed 28 different expeditions: in the Mediterranean, in the Atlantic, and up in the Arctic. The only reason why he couldn’t go down to the Antarctic was the outbreak of World War I; and he tried to do everything diplomatically to stop that. He was so disappointed by the reasons for the war and the outcomes across Europe that he didn’t do any more expeditions. We celebrated the Centennial of his passing last year.
He was incredible. My father also put a lot of time and effort into ocean conservation, mostly in favor of the Mediterranean. He really loved the sea and also loved to navigate. He was also a diver. He really believed that the Mediterranean is in danger and is worth preserving.
SC: Fisk, you’re the fifth generation of your family to run SC Johnson. What influence did all those Johnsons behind you have on what you’re doing today?
FJ: My mother and father were both very passionate environmentalists. I could probably wax on for half a day about the influence my father had on me from an environmental standpoint; but as I think about it, my mother probably had an even greater influence. She was the scientist and the mathematician in the family and loved the natural world. As we were growing up, we had the incredible opportunity to travel the world with her. We were down in mines, we were looking for fossils, we were out in the oceans, she had us chasing total solar eclipses. So, her passion for the natural world, and my father’s passion for the natural world, became my passion. Like Prince Albert, it was hard not to have that rub off on me. Today, especially as a father, you think about the world that your children will inherit, and it just gives you even more inspiration.
SC: So, you inherit it from your parents’ generation, and you want to pass it on to the next generation? How old are your kids now?
HSH: My twins are eight. At that age, they’re pretty curious. We’ve already explained a lot of things to them about the natural world.
FJ: My daughter, Katie, is 23 and just graduated from Dartmouth, and she’s taken on a passion for environmentalism herself. She is currently on a five-month program working in Africa with veterinary teams doing conservation work. She has been tracking, darting, and collaring elephants in Chad and Angola. And now she’s working with a veterinary team in Namibia dehorning rhinos. She is having an incredible experience and is on track to be a wildlife conservation veterinarian.
SC: Prince Albert, you have taken a lot of local actions here in Monaco to protect the oceans and the environment, such as in 2009 when you set aggressive carbon neutrality goals for the Principality. You have collaborated on the environment in the past with other royals such as then-Prince, now King, Charles III. You are part of several multi-lateral efforts that focus on terrestrial and ocean initiatives. Where do you see hopeful signs?
HSH: I see hope in international forums, keeping the message alive, and pushing for radical change in our behaviors. We also need to give as much information as possible for political and government leaders to put the right policies in place and to implement the right solutions. There are solutions out there for greenhouse gas emissions, and for other mitigating procedures to maintain healthy ecosystems.
Unfortunately, there are so many contaminants in the oceans, including an array of heavy metals from a variety of different sources. So, we have to push for the lessening and, hopefully, the eradication of some of these contaminants and other forms of pollution. Plastic, unfortunately, is going to take a lot longer.
SC: Are you hopeful after the recent decision to finalize the text of the High Seas Treaty at the United Nations?
HSH: Yes, although I will give a caveat to illustrate the challenges we face. The Treaty was adopted in principle, but I was speaking today with Kate Guy, the Senior Advisor on Climate and Environmental Security from the U.S. State Department. She was part of the negotiations and she agreed with me that while it was not publicized in the press, virtually every item on that agreement is still in brackets.
That means the final text has not been approved, and that will take a while. Then we will wait for the final document to be issued and approved again. Then, ratification by the different signatory countries is going to take time. Finally, you have to monitor the execution of it all. That’s why, in simple terms, we have to keep at it. So, I am optimistic. But we still have a long way to go and must keep the pressure on.
SC: Fisk, where do you see hope for influencing ocean conservation from corporate or private-public partnerships?
FJ: Trying to make progress as an individual company is like pushing water uphill. I very strongly believe that the number one thing we can do as a world community is to substantially improve and increase environmental regulations to protect the oceans. Then it is going to take every stakeholder coming together, government, business, waste collection and recycling facilities, civil society, and us as individuals to ultimately make progress.
SC: That’s unusual for a corporate person to call for more regulation? Usually, they are looking for less.
FJ: We are a big advocate for stronger plastic and marine regulations. When I see things like the negotiations for an international treaty on plastic pollution, or the High Seas Treaty, and the expansion of marine protected areas that are enforced by local governments; those things give me hope.
I also see hope on a business level. I serve on a board called the Consumer Goods Forum. It has all the world’s largest retailers and packaged goods manufacturers. There are 60 of us on the board, and I was one of the original board members, so I can report we’ve come a long way over the last couple decades. In the last two years, especially, I see much more momentum from businesses wanting to work together and make progress on this issue.
But, as a company, we are out there strongly advocating for greater plastic regulation and greater regulation of marine protected areas, because I think that’s what is ultimately going to make the biggest difference.
SC: SC Johnson also has its partnership with Plastic Bank?
FJ: Yes, we have a great relationship with Plastic Bank, where we pay people to collect plastic off the beaches, rivers, and coastal areas. Then we take that plastic and recycle it back into our own products. So, if you buy, for example, a bottle of Windex in the United States, you’ll see that bottle is made from 100% recovered coastal plastic. I think our total count today is that we stopped the equivalent of about 2 billion plastic bottles from entering the world’s oceans.
SC: You guys met five years ago at the One Ocean Conference in Bali. Prince Albert, this is your 14th time hosting the Monaco Blue Initiative and the 6th annual Monaco Ocean Week; and Fisk, this is your first time attending. What do you both hope to accomplish in attending the events this week?
HSH: As you saw today, we had great speakers and a record number of participants. While Monaco Ocean Week has grown over the years, thankfully, it remains what it was always meant to be: a forum for discussion between different stakeholders. We have different themes, but we make enough time for people to ask questions, or to interact in different ways. That means not only between scientists, but between representatives of international organizations, government officials, tourism, and even heads of state.
I am really happy the President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, is here because he is a great example of good stewardship by a country. The President reminded us that “Vision without action is just hallucination.” We finished today concluding that new venture funding is essential to the changes we need to make, so tomorrow we are going to launch the new ReOcean Fund to invest in ideas that provide better protection of the ocean. It will take a substantive effort to get the right people to manage these areas, better secure them, and better monitor them. But, if it also makes economic sense, it will be successful, and it will move us forward.
FJ: I’m mostly here to learn what’s going on in the world of ocean conservation and maybe make a few connections where we might expand our partnerships. We talked to Geoff Green from Students on Ice earlier today.
He’s doing some great things educating young kids, and we might be able to do some things together up in the Arctic.
HSH: It’s a great program, and Geoff’s a great leader. We have participated with him for several years now with students from Monaco. And it’s incredible how these kids come back completely transformed.
SC: The world is filled with millions of people who care about marine conservation. What can they do alone or together to protect the oceans?
HSH: I really welcome the opportunity to engage anyone and everyone in more active and meaningful ways — but it has to be intergenerational. We’re older guys, and we’re still pretty active, thank God, but we have to engage the younger generation in this fight. You don’t have to be part of a big organization. Through simple actions, you can be an advocate for the natural world, expressing your concerns and showing you care for the environment.
It’s through small steps and small actions that we can galvanize more people, and more younger people. A lot of people ask me what they can do, or what their kids can do. Through small actions, even just sending letters to their elected officials is something important, encouraging policy makers to find a more sustainable way of going forward.
FJ: Well, I’m going to echo some of that because I think the number-one thing that they can do is write to their local officials, advocating and advocate for stronger plastic regulations and stronger, larger, more enforceable marine protected areas. I think the number-two thing is there are lots of volunteer opportunities and lots of NGO’s that offer beach clean-ups and things that people can volunteer to do to protect marine areas. I think the third thing is to think about their own footprint, especially their plastic footprint.
And this may not be so popular, but think about your seafood footprint, too, and to reduce the amount of seafood you eat because overfishing is a huge problem. And then be an ambassador; educate yourself and be an ambassador to others on the importance of our ocean ecosystems.
HSH: Just to finish on that, as a practical example, we’ve joined forces with a group called MrGoodFish.com. They produce a list twice a year of seafood that you can consume that is not under threat, and they’re not overly exposed to plastics. I’m afraid that all are, but some are less contaminated by heavy metals and so forth. So, it’s a list of sustainable species, and a guide to help orient consumers and let them know that they have a choice.
FJ: One of the big things that we’re doing as a company is educating the public on the issues associated with the ocean ecosystems. We launched an exhibit in London about 18 months ago called Blue Paradox. It was just a pilot, but it was a huge success, and we had lines of people that we couldn’t accommodate.
So, this summer, we’re opening a semi-permanent Blue Paradox exhibit in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, putting what we did in London on steroids. They already get a million visitors a year, so it’s going to be a wonderful opportunity to educate youth and others on the importance of our ocean ecosystem.
SC: I want to thank both of you for a really great interview. Knowing you for more than 40 years has certainly meant a lot in my life.
FJ: Thanks for doing this.
HSH: Yes, thank you. Now, we have our own Irish pub in the Palace basement. Let’s go have a beer!
Steve Culbertson, is President and CEO of Youth Service America, a global nonprofit that activates young people as changemakers in their communities. Steve graduated from Hamilton College with a degree in English and French. He lives in Washington, DC, and can be reached at steve@ysa.org.
His Serene Highness the Sovereign Prince Albert II of Monaco is the son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace, née Kelly. Prince Albert succeeded his father, who died on April 6, 2005. Since 1993, the Prince has led the Monégasque delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations and has regularly taken the floor on behalf of the Principality of Monaco. He participated as an athlete in five Olympic Games as a member of the national bobsleigh team. The Prince is President of the Monégasque Olympic Committee and a member of the International Olympic Committee. He graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. in Political Science. To learn more, check out the Prince Albert II Foundation’s website and the website for the Palace of Monaco.
H. Fisk Johnson is Chairman, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of SC Johnson. Fisk joined the company in 1987 and has held a variety of global management and marketing positions. He is the fifth-generation leader of the 135-year-old family company. Fisk has a B.A. in Chemistry, a Master’s in Engineering, a Master’s in Physics, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics, all from Cornell University. To learn more: http://FiskJohnson.com.
Story photo credits: Michael Alesi/Palais Princier, SCJohnson.com, and www.Palais.MC
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media