Deutsche Bank has announced the launch of the Deutsche Bank Ocean Resilience Philanthropy Fund, a new global philanthropic fund dedicated to ocean conservation and coastal resilience. 

This is the first philanthropic fund of its kind set up by a financial institution, giving clients and other stakeholders the opportunity to support ocean conservation efforts though a dedicated framework to facilitate donations.

“We are committed to supporting ocean conservation and a sustainable blue economy,” Claudio de Sanctis, Deutsche Bank’s global head of the international private bank and CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We are excited to give clients and colleagues the opportunity to invest in a better, more sustainable future for one of the world’s most precious resources.”

The bank is a founding member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and the first bank to join the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) as a full member. It is committing an initial US$300,000 to launch the fund and aims to raise up to US$5 million from clients and other stakeholders within the next five years.

The first initiative to be supported by the fund will be the Future Climate Coral Bank, a research project in the Maldives led by the Maldives Coral Institute that is designed to identify coral species that are resilient to climate change and conserve them in a living gene bank.

The Maldives, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, has seen large-scale damage and destruction to its coral reefs over the past 20 years. The project will help the nation of islands to monitor and repair its reefs, maintain its fishing and tourism industries and protect itself from the growing threat of storm surges. Ultimately, it will help scientists to heal and strengthen coral reefs around the world.

“By creating this philanthropy fund, we are directing much-needed capital towards the development of nature-based solutions to protect and enhance our marine ecosystems,” says Markus Müller,  global head of Deutsche Bank’s chief investment office. “While the development of the coral bank is first and foremost to build an archive of the most climate-resistant corals, it is, more importantly, designed to benefit future generations by providing knowledge to help other vulnerable coastal communities.”