How can the long timelines of nature be reconciled with the much shorter timelines of corporate reporting? And how can data make visible what traditional metrics tend to overlook?
These questions were at the heart of Blue Value, the event organised by Regg3 and One Ocean Foundation on 15 September at Sala Sironi in Milan: a discussion on biodiversity, impact measurement and the role of data in corporate strategic decision-making.
Why Blue Value
The starting point is a well-known limitation of economics: price systems struggle to recognise the value of common goods such as clean air, oceans and biodiversity. Their market price can approach zero, while the costs of their degradation remain outside corporate accounts. Sustainability therefore risks remaining at the margins of economic decision-making, rather than becoming part of how organisations assess costs, risks and investments.
From measurement to evidence of impact
The panel, moderated by Jenny Salazar Zapata, COO & Founder of Regg3, featured Stefano Pogutz, Professor of Practice at SDA Bocconi and Head of the Scientific Committee at One Ocean Foundation, and Giulia Liguori, marine biologist at the Foundation, following opening remarks from Giovanni Moratti, CEO & Founder of Regg3, and Jan Pachner, Secretary General of One Ocean Foundation.
Around thirty organisations from sectors ranging from fashion to public administration were represented in the audience. A survey conducted among participants showed that 73% already measure the impact of their activities. Yet 68% identified measuring the impact generated as their main need, followed by comparing territories or projects (36%) and understanding where to concentrate resources (32%).
The challenge, therefore, is not simply to collect data, but to demonstrate what has actually changed as a result of an intervention.
Showing, not just telling
During Blue Value, participants worked directly with One Ocean Foundation data through the Regg3 dashboard.
Three tools guided the analysis: Explorer helps identify and understand the needs of a territory; Proof measures the effect an organisation has within that territorial context; and Exchange connects regenerative projects with organisations undergoing transition, enabling them to work together in response to local needs.
Canyon of Caprera: when data builds knowledge
Launched in 2019, the Canyon of Caprera project studies an area of sea that currently has no formal protection, where seven of the eight cetacean species found in the central Mediterranean have been confirmed.
In 2025, the site records 35 species. Of the 24 that can be assessed, 9 are endangered or critically endangered. One Ocean Foundation has directly observed 32 species, including Madrepora oculata: the project’s documented contribution to the Red List Index is 0.94 points, approximately 1.6% of the reference context.
Measurement also matters where knowledge remains incomplete. For species classified as Data Deficient, new observations can contribute to future IUCN assessments. Funding has a tangible effect: more resources can mean 20 monitoring trips at sea instead of 10, generating more data and a stronger evidence base for conservation and protection decisions that can be recognised and used by institutions.
Blue Forest: when zero does not mean no value
Blue Forest, launched in 2023, restores Posidonia oceanica meadows in Liguria, Puglia and Sardinia through university partnerships lasting at least three years.
At Cala di Volpe, one of the six sites involved, 221 species have been recorded. Today, the project’s measurable contribution to changes in species risk is zero.
But zero does not mean no value. Years may pass between restoring a seagrass meadow and observing measurable biological change. This is why the platform distinguishes between what has been measured, what currently has a value of zero and what remains a potential impact to be verified and supported over time.
Blue Forest also shows how a single project can generate value across multiple dimensions. In Genoa, it funds PhD positions, representing 0.112% of PhD enrolments in Liguria, with fully traceable data.
What businesses can take away
Blue Value highlighted three practical lessons: resist short-termism, because impact on nature rarely follows a company’s quarterly reporting calendar; consider time as part of the measurement itself, including being transparent when an outcome is not yet observable; and use data as a tool for governance and resource allocation.
Data can help organisations identify territories and projects that are more closely connected to their core business. For tourism, fashion and agrifood companies, coastal biodiversity can represent a directly material issue. For banks and insurers, geolocated and comparable data can support project selection, monitoring and reporting.
Value also lies in the journey
An organisation funding a seagrass meadow today is not purchasing an immediate outcome. It is supporting a process that will need to be observed, measured and verified over the years.
Blue Value showed that measurement does not mean claiming an outcome before it exists. It means making the pathway towards that outcome visible: understanding the context, documenting activities, acknowledging the limits of available data and continuing to observe what changes over time.
It is this transparency that transforms an act of support into a strategic decision.
Finally, we are proud to include Blue Value as the third of six events promoted by Regg3 as a member of the City of Milan’s Air and Climate Alliance.
