Sustainability Incubator

What Sustainability Incubator does

Sustainability Incubator is an independent ocean stewardship research and advisory organization founded in 2012 and headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. The firm conducts scientific research and provides advisory services focused on labor rights, forced labor detection, and environmental sustainability in global seafood supply chains. Its core offerings include commissioned research studies, training manuals for port inspectors and seafood enterprises, Human Rights Due Diligence training, and secretariat and science services for Fishery Improvement Projects covering more than 30 projects worldwide.

The firm's underlying expertise is built on a large body of peer-reviewed research, with over 2,500 citations in academic journals and 44 citations in US Federal Policy and Court Decisions stemming from a foundational 2011 Marine Policy paper on illegal and unreported fish in seafood imports. Product lines include the ASEAN Regional Fishing Labor Study (2026), IOM training manuals for Thailand and Indonesia, SAFE-Seas port inspector manuals for the Philippines and Indonesia, and featured research reports such as "When More Means Less" and "Laboring for Less." The firm's research has been featured by major media outlets including the Associated Press, Washington Post, Financial Times, and Nature.

The business model is professional services consulting with revenue generated through commissioned projects and long-term advisory engagements with governments (ASEAN, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Fiji), international organizations (IOM, FAO, GLOBEFISH), NGOs (Freedom Fund, Humanity United), and enterprise seafood companies (Sprouts Farmers Market, SYM PAC International, Fong Hsiang Enterprises). The go-to-market motion is sales-led direct consulting, with no publicly disclosed pricing. No revenue, headcount, or funding data are available, and the firm operates as an independent organization with no disclosed parent company or institutional investors.

Name

Sustainability Incubator

Legal name

Sustainability Incubator

Website

https://sustainability-incubator.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sustainability Incubator is an independent ocean stewardship research and advisory organization founded in 2012 in Honolulu, serving governments, international organizations, NGOs, and seafood enterprises with evidence-based consulting, training programs, and policy guidance on fisheries sustainability and labor rights.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Consulting

NAICS

Administration of Conservation Programs (92412), Aquaculture (11251)

SIC

Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900)

akta.pro primary industry

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE), Aquaculture Farm Services & Operations Support (net cleaning, diving, grading, harvesting) (AFAEAAAM)

Keywords

• Ocean stewardship consulting
• Seafood sustainability advisory
• Fishery improvement services
• Labor rights training
• Marine policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory and Consulting Services: Professional advisory services to governments, international organizations, and industry bodies for ocean stewardship policy, strategy, and program development. Revenue is generated through commissioned consulting projects and long-term advisory engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sustainability Incubator is an independent research and advisory organization that delivers ocean stewardship consulting, labor risk training manuals, port inspector training, and secretariat services for Fishery Improvement Projects to governments, international organizations, NGOs, and seafood industry clients. Its work spans evidence-based policy research, capacity-building curricula, and direct advisory engagements aimed at reducing labor exploitation and environmental harm in global seafood supply chains.

Product overview

Sustainability Incubator is an independent research and advisory organization focused on ocean stewardship. Founded in 2012 in Honolulu, it provides a portfolio of research publications, training manuals, and consultancy services to governments, industry bodies, and NGOs. The core offering consists of evidence-based research on ocean sustainability and labor practices in the seafood industry, supplemented by practical training programs including IOM Training Manuals for fishing and seafood enterprises and SAFE-Seas Training Manuals for port inspectors. The organization also provides Human Rights Due Diligence training and secretariat services for Fishery Improvement Projects worldwide. Key research outputs include the ASEAN Regional Fishing Labor Study and featured reports like 'When More Means Less' and 'Laboring for Less'.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ocean Stewardship Research and Advisory Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 85+ seafood suppliers trained to detect forced labor in over 500 supply chains
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ASEANcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations commissioned the organization to produce the Regional Fishing Labor Study (2026), providing practical guidance for engagement with the sector to build oversight capacity and improve fisher readiness across eleven ASEAN nations.
• IOM (International Organization for Migration)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative development of training manuals for fishing and seafood enterprises in Thailand and Indonesia, designed to detect and prevent forced labor in supply chains.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership on ocean stewardship projects and policy guidance for sustainable fisheries management globally.
• GLOBEFISHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on fishery improvement and market transparency initiatives supporting sustainable seafood supply chains.
• SAFE-Seas PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment of training manuals for port inspectors in the Philippines and Indonesia, leading to enhanced inspection mandates and successful trafficking interventions.
• Freedom FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative initiatives focused on labor risk reduction and prevention of forced labor in seafood supply chains.
• Humanity UnitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting labor risk reduction projects and initiatives to combat human trafficking in fishing and seafood operations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Seafood Legacy: Seafood Legacy is a Japan-based consultancy that works with Japanese seafood companies on sustainable sourcing, human rights, and ocean stewardship. It is a regional peer with comparable advisory offerings focused on Asia-Pacific seafood supply chains, similar to Sustainability Incubator's regional work in Southeast Asia.

Emerging players

• International Pole & Line Foundation (IPLF): IPLF is a nonprofit that works on one-by-one tuna fisheries sustainability, engaging with fisheries, businesses, and governments to improve practices. Its narrower species focus on tuna overlaps with one of Sustainability Incubator's key FIP areas (tuna, swordfish), and both engage seafood retailers and suppliers on sustainability.
• Global Fishing Watch: Global Fishing Watch is a nonprofit technology organization that provides data and analytics on global fishing activity to support ocean governance and combat illegal fishing. While more technology-focused, its work on fisheries transparency and ocean stewardship overlaps with Sustainability Incubator's policy and research mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Oceana: Oceana is one of the largest international ocean conservation advocacy organizations, working on fisheries policy, bycatch reduction, and seafood supply chain transparency globally. It is significantly larger than Sustainability Incubator and overlaps on ocean stewardship campaigns and seafood industry engagement but operates more as a policy advocacy NGO than a consulting firm.
• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) - Oceans: EDF's oceans program works on sustainable fisheries management, bycatch reduction, and seafood supply chain sustainability with governments, businesses, and the fishing industry. As a major science-based environmental NGO, it competes for similar advisory contracts and influence on fisheries policy.
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - Oceans Practice: WWF's oceans and seafood programs work globally on sustainable fisheries, marine conservation, and seafood supply chain reform with both governments and industry. As a vastly larger NGO with in-house scientific capacity, it competes with Sustainability Incubator for donor funding and government advisory mandates.
• Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): MSC is the leading global seafood sustainability certification body, setting standards for sustainable fishing and chain of custody. Sustainability Incubator's research has directly challenged MSC's certification of forced-labor-linked fisheries, making MSC both a competitor and a target of its work in fishery improvement and seafood certification.

Direct peers

• FishWise: FishWise is a nonprofit consultancy that provides science-based advisory services to the seafood industry on sustainability, social responsibility, and supply chain improvement. It directly competes with Sustainability Incubator in providing fishery improvement project support, traceability guidance, and human rights due diligence training to seafood suppliers and retailers.
• Future of Fish: Future of Fish is a nonprofit consultancy that collaborates with the seafood industry to improve supply chain sustainability, traceability, and worker conditions. Its focus on practical tools, advisory services, and supply chain reform in seafood closely overlaps Sustainability Incubator's consulting and training offerings.
• Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP): SFP is a nonprofit that works directly with seafood suppliers, retailers, and fisheries on fishery improvement projects, sustainable sourcing, and seafood supply chain accountability. It is the most direct operational peer, providing science and secretariat services to dozens of FIPs worldwide — the same core service Sustainability Incubator offers.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sustainability Incubator