Profile

Blue Latitudes, founded in 2015 by Emily Hazelwood and Amber Sparks, is a certified women-owned marine environmental consulting firm. We design sustainable, creative, and cost-effective solutions for the environmental issues facing the offshore… Blue Latitudes, founded in 2015 by Emily Hazelwood and Amber Sparks, is a certified women-owned marine environmental consulting firm. We design sustainable, creative, and cost-effective solutions for the environmental issues facing the offshore energy industry. Key examples of our services include re-purposing offshore infrastructure, such as oil and gas platforms, as artificial reefs, utilizing Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to conduct ecological surveys, and working with Global Fishing Watch to analyze commercial fishing vessel patterns to visually present solutions that lessen the frequency of negative interactions between ocean stakeholders. We combine our industry expertise with research-based insights and technical tools to assess offshore infrastructure on a case-by-case basis to determine the best environmental, economic, and socially responsible outcomes available for our clients.
In our daily lives, we use plastics, we drive our cars to work, and turn lights on and off in our homes. We contribute to the global demand for offshore oil and gas. This demand has led to the development of hundreds of offshore oil and gas platforms in almost every ocean around the world. At some point, these platforms will reach the end of their economically productive lives, and this is when we dive in. We are marine scientists on a mission to re-purpose offshore oil and gas platforms as artificial reefs; This concept is known as "Rigs to Reefs". However, re-using existing materials and repurposing them for environmental benefit is not just relegated to offshore platforms, we can apply this concept to a variety of industries from offshore wind to aquaculture.
Our vision at Blue Latitudes is to find silver linings in our oceans at the intersection of industry and the environment and we are deeply invested in the concept of re-purposing offshore energy infrastructure for the benefit of the environment. Our company is intrinsically unique in that we are women-owned in the male-dominated industry of offshore energy. As scientists, we have integrated ourselves into the oil and gas industry and disrupted their perception of decommissioning. We offer solutions that they previously didn't think were possible and in 2018, co-founders Emily and Amber were recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the energy sector for their efforts with Blue Latitudes to create innovative solutions for the complex ecological challenges associated with the offshore industry.