PADI is reigniting our Ocean Torchbearer initiative with a Save the Ocean pledge, asking for a personal commitment from everyone to sign on to protect the ocean and join the world’s largest community creating ocean change.

The purpose of the Save the Ocean Pledge is to expose more people around the globe to tangible and realistic ways to engage in ocean conservation by providing a clear pathway to action in what can often can be an overwhelming experience, leaving people feeling what they do doesn’t affect the big picture, or worse, doesn’t matter. The more people we have in our Torchbearer Community, the more we empower to the notion that change is possible and that a shift towards eco-conscious behaviors, especially when done collectively, can lead to a healthier, and more protected, ocean.

PADI will amplify the Save the Ocean pledge through PR efforts as well as the extended family of AmbassaDivers, social media influencers, and conservation partners like Blancpain, Mission Blue and SEIKO, inviting them to share the pledge with their audiences around the world.

A top-of-the-funnel acquisition tool that will reach new audiences globally, the Save the Ocean Pledge is a deeper purpose marketing tool rooted in conservation action, onboarding ocean advocates to their conservation journey with PADI and PADI members around the world.

PADI Mission Hubs play a critical role in amplifying the pledge with divers everywhere.

PADI’s bold mission, ‘to create a billion Torchbearers to explore and protect the ocean’, is our organizational commitment to fostering a sustainable dive industry and building more resilient dive communities around the globe. Together with the participation from PADI Members internationally, we can protect the underwater world we love by rallying people everywhere to join us in our shared mission to save the ocean.

As a PADI Retailer, you are the foundation of the diving industry, serving as role models and influencers to your community. You play an integral role in advancing the mission forward and, in turn, creating healthier dive communities around the world. This is an awesome responsibility and an environmental superpower that can heal the planet.

The Pledge connects Torchbearers to PADI Members everywhere.

In many cases, the Save the Ocean pledge could be the first step of someone’s conservation journey with PADI, and upon taking it, they will receive a series of onboarding emails welcoming them to the Ocean Torchbearer Community. Each Torchbearer receives a quarterly newsletter and notifications to participate in conservation campaigns throughout the year, such as signing a CITES petition to protect sharks or the upcoming plastics petition to help fight marine debris– this allows everyone-not just divers to be part of the solution.

Ocean Torchbearers are the first to learn about all PADI conservation opportunities with PADI operators, such as:

Conservation Courses and Specialties
Citizen Science
Conservation Activities Locator
PADI Eco Centers
PADI AWARE Foundation ecosystem including 100% AWARE, AWARE courses, Community Grantees, and the Adopt the Blue Program
PADI Blueprint for Ocean Action – the conservation framework that guides Ocean Torchbearers on how to work with PADI Members to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030

Everyone is kept informed of opportunities for conservation action, both above and below the surface. Most of these actions, lead back to the PADI Member in the form of dive courses, citizen science opportunities, conservation activities and events, helping grow your business, your bottom line, and protect your front office.

The Pledge that CAN Save the Ocean.

Everyone is provided an opportunity to protect the ocean and is invited to share the pledge with friends and family, creating a force multiplier effect that will help grow the Torchbearer Community and the number of ocean advocates around the globe. Undoubtedly, the pledge will expose more people to conservation and earn more exposure of PADI globally, inspiring more people to start, keep or teach diving with PADI dive operators around the world.

What we do individually, and collectively, does matter, and this shared optimism and conviction that change is possible, makes the Ocean Torchbearer Community a viable solution to creating a more resilient ocean and brighter future for all.

By seeing and putting in motion solutions on behalf of the ocean and on behalf of people and humanity, PADI is leveraging the dive community’s united passion into a positive force that is powerful and important. As a PADI Member and Diver, you are literally reshaping the seas for the better. Exploration, quality diver training and ocean health are the bedrock of our collective future together.

The post Why Everyone Should Take PADI’s Save the Ocean Pledge appeared first on PADI Pros.

Conservation, AWARE, ocean conservation, save the ocean, torchbearerPADI Pros