“Optimizing the Path Towards Plastic-Free Oceans” awarded third place at the Innovative Applications in Analytics Award at the 2025 INFORMS Analytics+ Conference

The 2025 INFORMS Analytics+ Conference was a time to highlight the impact a transdisciplinary community united by analytics for social and planetary good can have!

We are proud to announce that the project “Optimizing the Path Towards Plastic-Free Oceans” won third place in the Innovative Applications in Analytics Award! This achievement was made possible because of the great collaborative work between Dr Jean Pauphilet, Baizhi (Daniel) Song from the London Business School, Yannick Pham, Steering Strategy Manager, and Dr Bruno Sainte-Rose, Lead Computational Modeler, at the The Ocean Cleanup, and Professor Dr Dick den Hertog, the Analytics for a Better World Science to Impact Director.

Curious about the impact? On one year of ocean data, the optimization-based routing approach increases the quantity of plastic collected by more than 60% compared with the current routing strategy! Learn how the developed models optimize cleanup routes using ocean current data, plastic dispersion models, and advanced optimization by watching the video below.