ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Nordic Ocean Watch Denmark

CVR 39854082

The mission of Nordic Ocean Watch Denmark (NOW) is to strengthen the public focus on the extent of pollution in the oceans and its consequences. Furthermore, NOW wants to contribute to creating a future where marine pollution is reduced through the actions of the individual as well as volunteer initiatives.

NOW wants to reach a wide community of people. Anyone can take part in caring for the ocean, by making behavioural changes and participating in activities, many small actions can affect major change when combined.

NOW has three major focus areas which guide the practical implementation of NOW’s vision:

• Activation - We arrange activities enabling people to actively give back to the ocean.

• Knowledge sharing - We give the ocean a voice.

• Community - We foster ambassadors for the ocean.

In the following sections NOW’s achievements are presented within each focus area in 2021. The annual report also includes an overview of financial partnerships and NOW’s financial statements of 2021.

Activation

In 2021, Nordic Ocean Watch Denmark organised 12 cleanups, 10 in the Copenhagen area and two in Jutland. Over 200 participants collected a total of 173kg of waste. We continued to collaborate with like-minded co-hosts, built new relationships, and participated in local water sports events such as Copenhagen Watersport Festival. Some of the highlights were our cleanup events during the J70 Europeans hosted by the Royal Danish Yacht Club and during the GKA Kite World Cup. Furthermore, we continued our good relationship with Copenhagen Cable Park and participated another year in the CCC Championship. Moreover, we had our very first team cleanup with our new supporter Organic Basics. We were also pleased to see an increased engagement of our community, resulting in the first cleanup organised by a team of Ocean Watchers. With our new waste bag holders from Buddy Bob, our cleanups also got a lot more easier!

The Trash collected at the cleanups was sorted into eight categories and weighed for NOW’s Trash Database. The graph below presents an overview of the total amount of trash collected in 2021 divided into the trash categories. 

Knowledge sharing

In 2021 an additional educational article “The rainforest of the sea” was written by NOW's biology team and posted on NOW’s website under “Facts”, which provides the reader with 8 factual articles in total. The articles are available in both Danish and English. The educational articles provide timeless knowledge regarding the ocean; for example, the scale of ocean pollution, how wildlife is affected, the link between climate change and ocean imbalances, etc.

NOW started a News Blog in May 2020, and in 2021 it became available in both danish and English. The focus of the blog is ocean and climate related news from Denmark. Furthermore, the purpose of the blog is to share news regarding the ocean and climate that are easily digestible for the public, so that people can get a quick overview. NOW published 16 blog posts in 2021.

In 2021 NOW published its first Campaign based on the trash data collected at cleanup events. The campaign is called “Did you know” and provides information about the amount of trash collected by volunteers during the past year of 2020 at NOWs cleanup events. NOW published 16 “Did you know” posts on social media during 2021. 

Community and online communication

NOW has significantly increased its online presence and audience in the past year. In 2021, the NOW’s website had 4.4K unique visitors (an 18% increase from 2020), and 14K page views (an increase of 7% compared to 2020).

NOW’s social media channels have also shown a positive audience increase, with 30% more followers on Facebook and 48% more followers on Instagram compared to 2020 figures, currently at 1,790 and 1,754 respectively. NOW’s new LinkedIn account currently has 89 followers (status update January 2022).

In 2021, NOW has released twelve Ocean Hero interviews (one per month), launched the #ArtforOcean campaign, featuring artists dedicating their work to the oceans and/or collaborating with NOW, continued with 'Did you know?' Posts in collaboration with NOWs biologists, celebrated international days connected to the oceans and the environment, eg. Earth Day, World Oceans Day and World Cleanup Day.

Last but not least, the communications team has published its first ‘Guide’ on Instagram, showcasing NOW's participation in the Transatlantic Expedition.

Partnerships

NOW entered into 2021 in continued financial partnerships with Oceania Copenhagen, Worthmore, Økofamilien and Vanav360. In 2021 the partnership with Oceania Copenhagen, Worthmore and Vanav360 ended since it was a time limited agreement. In January 2021 NOW entered into a new partnership with Nivea and Organic Basic. These financial partnerships provide the economical foundation for NOW to carry out its vision and mission protecting the ocean.

NOW also became part of 1% for the Planet and Benevity as a nonprofit partner. These partnerships are intended to advance NOW's impact as well as involve more businesses and individuals in the environmental movement. 

NOW partners with local and international organisations to increase the organisation's outreach and impact. The partnership with the local organisation Expedition Plastik continued in 2021 and new partnerships with the local organisations Os Om Havet and Dråben I Havet were formed. Also the international partnerships with the Icelandic organisation Ocean Missions and the organisation from the Netherlands The Ocean Movement was continued in 2021 to encourage a more sustainable interaction with the ocean on a global scale.

In September 2021 NOW went on an expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to conduct a science project about microplastic pollution in the oceans. In connection with the expedition NOW formed partnerships with The Safina Center and Roskilde University and Aalborg University who contributed to the research project with professional knowledge and guidance.   

Financial statement

NOW has closed the year 2021 with a profit of DKK 203,840, compared to DKK 47,786 of 2020. The organisation has received donations for DKK 224,121, registering a 234% increase compared to 2020. Donations were mainly received from supporters and partners, and in residual part from other donors, particularly through the Benevity community impact fund.

Operating expenses were DKK 20,282 in 2021, an increase of DKK 6,417 compared to DKK 13,865 in 2020. The development was led by Expeditions expenses, related to equipment’s purchases for the transatlantic expedition for the citizen science project on plastic pollution. Cleanup equipment expenses had an increase of DKK 4,776 compared to the previous year, mainly attributable to restocking of cleanup tools and transportation costs for the cleanups outside of Copenhagen.

Savings were recorded in the other operating expenses’ categories, because of one-off costs in 2020 that were not born in 2021, particularly in Administration expenses for IT equipment, but also in expenses on Marketing & Online branding, due to the team cleanup in 2020, of which photos and videos were used as branding material; and in Information & Education expenses for the purchase of equipment for podcasts also in 2020.

No extraordinary or financial expenses were recorded in 2021.

The financial position has also improved in 2021, with a balance of Cash at bank of DKK 249,117 as of December 31, 2021, compared to DKK 45,277 as of December 31, 2020. Consistently with 2020, also in 2021 NOW does not have any liability in its balance sheet. Equity is exclusively composed of profit for the period and retained earnings generated by the profit of 2020.