Welcome
About Waves of Change
Waves of Change is a non-profit founded in Biarritz in 2019, with one mission: making coastal cities and their ecosystems future-proof.
What we do
We bring cities, startups, companies, investors and researchers together around public-private projects that are fundable, replicable and built for impact, on five continents. Our goal: €500 million invested in coastal projects by 2035.
Project consortiums we’ve launched include:
Marine pollution monitoring and bioremediation (French research institute × Singaporean startup)
A cross-border, preserved marine space on the Basque Coast
Electrified quayside logistics at a European port
A plastic waste collection and recycling network in the Global South
Low-cost drinking and industrial water for coastal regions
A science-based platform to help investors fund a sustainable blue economy
Every year, coalition members meet at the Waves of Change Forum in Biarritz to share progress and challenges.
How we work
We offer a safe action space where everyone involved and aligned with our One Health practical approach (startups, corporations, NGOs, investors, universities and public bodies) can create shared value over the long term. Our approach is cross-sector, inclusive yet curated, and grounded in trust, humility, collective intelligence and organizational biomimicry.
Our guiding values
Collaboration over competition
Relevance over scale
Action before communication
Local and global, connected
Planet and people first
Our vision
A worldwide coalition of territorial labs, rooted in Biarritz and linked by international ambassadors, learning from each other to solve shared coastal challenges.
“I have met a lot of people that can help me and that I can help as well. It is really a two-way process. It has been amazing to meet people who work on projects in the arctic, in space and locally. It was great to feel helpful and to know that we are many who share the same fight.”
Waves of Change attracts professionals and organizations from all over the world. Our participants speak different languages and bring unique competencies to the table. They all have one goal in common: developing sustainable solutions to make coastal cities future proof, while respecting and preserving natural resources and the biosphere.
Photo from WoC event at Olatu Leku in Anglet, September 2020.
During the 2021 Waves of Change Forum edition
We look forward to joining forces!