OCE-B.06.C - Noise and Energy Disturbance Reduction Progress
Does the company demonstrate progress on reducing noise or other energy-related disturbance levels in its direct operations?
About the data
The WBA Ocean Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to halt and reverse nature loss in marine ecosystems, tracking how companies manage their impacts on ocean biodiversity, marine habitats, and the communities and workers dependent on healthy seas. The 2026 edition is WBA's first Ocean Benchmark, assessing 125 companies across key sectors dependent on oceans, including seafood, maritime transport, offshore wind energy, shipbuilding, port operations, apparel, and chemicals. Companies are assessed on 47 indicators across four measurement areas: governance, ecosystems and biodiversity, social responsibility, and core social indicators. The benchmark builds on WBA's Nature Benchmark and the former Seafood Stewardship Index, and its methodology was developed with input from more than 50 stakeholders including ocean communities, companies, scientists and civil society, with human rights and social impacts kept at its core alongside nature-specific concerns. More information can be found here.
Methodology
Energy use can generate various types of pollution, including noise, artificial lighting,
heating and electricity systems, electromagnetic radiation, radio waves and vibrations. These
disturbances can have far-reaching impacts on both human health and wildlife, whether on land or in
the ocean. For example, prolonged exposure to environmental noise has been shown to adversely
affect wildlife, public health, community well-being and overall urban liveability. Similarly, human-
generated underwater noise in sea environments can disrupt marine biodiversity, leading to issues
such as hearing impairment and behavioural disturbances in marine wildlife.
Artificial light from coastal cities, offshore platforms and ships has also been found to disrupt marine
habitats and lead to ecological imbalances. Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from sources such as
submarine cables and offshore wind farms has been shown to alter behaviour, and natural and
communications systems, causing stress to marine organisms, while also leading to changes in
sediment distribution and water quality. Heated water discharged into oceans can raise water
temperatures, disrupting marine habitats and affecting species sensitive to temperature changes.
Companies should implement best-practice approaches to minimising pollution from noise and all
other such forms of energy input (SDG 14.1).
Research Guidance:
For this element to be **met**, the company must:
Demonstrate a decrease in values with metric reported in a) over 3 years (minimum). It is important that they show a decreasing trend in general between the first and last year reported.
heating and electricity systems, electromagnetic radiation, radio waves and vibrations. These
disturbances can have far-reaching impacts on both human health and wildlife, whether on land or in
the ocean. For example, prolonged exposure to environmental noise has been shown to adversely
affect wildlife, public health, community well-being and overall urban liveability. Similarly, human-
generated underwater noise in sea environments can disrupt marine biodiversity, leading to issues
such as hearing impairment and behavioural disturbances in marine wildlife.
Artificial light from coastal cities, offshore platforms and ships has also been found to disrupt marine
habitats and lead to ecological imbalances. Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from sources such as
submarine cables and offshore wind farms has been shown to alter behaviour, and natural and
communications systems, causing stress to marine organisms, while also leading to changes in
sediment distribution and water quality. Heated water discharged into oceans can raise water
temperatures, disrupting marine habitats and affecting species sensitive to temperature changes.
Companies should implement best-practice approaches to minimising pollution from noise and all
other such forms of energy input (SDG 14.1).
Research Guidance:
For this element to be **met**, the company must:
Demonstrate a decrease in values with metric reported in a) over 3 years (minimum). It is important that they show a decreasing trend in general between the first and last year reported.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Not Applicable
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report