Douglas Woodring has been campaigning about the impact of marine plastic long before it became a popular cause. The founder in 2010 and managing director of Ocean Recovery Alliance, he was inspired to start the environmental NGO when he was diving in a remote spot in Palau and still found plastic waste littering the sea, first founding Project Kaisei, a mission to survey and clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Ocean Recovery Alliance takes an innovative, technology-driven approach to the business of fighting pollution, with projects that include the Plastic Disclosure Project, which works to improve accountability and transparency on plastic use; the Global Alert app, which allows people to report marine rubbish; and the Plasticity Forum, launched at the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Originally from the US, he has also worked in industries including new media and asset management.

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