Sustainability

Protection that gives back to the sea

Every CCell reef protects a coastline and becomes a home for marine life. For you, that means a stronger case with regulators, a story your staff and guests are proud of, and survey photos and data for your sustainability reporting.

Included with every CCell reef, at no extra cost

See a reef come alive What it means for you

Grunts sheltering under a CCell reef, Royal Resorts, Cancun, September 2022 (CCell photo)

Why we exist

"To protect and regenerate coastline habitats by championing elegant, long-term solutions rooted in learning and understanding."

Protect and regenerate

We don't only hold the line against the sea. We want every coast we work on to have more life on it than before we arrived.

Elegant, not heavy

Work with nature, not against it. One structure that calms waves, keeps the beach and builds habitat does the job of several.

Long-term thinking

Coasts change over decades, not five-year plans. We model the long term, and build reefs that grow stronger with time.

Why we build reefs

The world's reefs are struggling. So we build more of them.

Coral reefs are some of the most important places in the ocean, and they are under more pressure than ever. When a coast needs protecting, we choose to build a reef rather than a wall, because the same structure that breaks the waves gives fish, corals and shellfish somewhere to live.

A grunt sheltering inside a CCell reef (CCell photo)

25%of all marine life depends on coral reefs at some point in its life cycle

Source: US EPA

<1%of the seafloor is covered by coral reefs, yet they hold the highest biodiversity of any ocean ecosystem

Source: UNEP

84%of the world's coral reef area was hit by bleaching-level heat stress between 2023 and 2025, the largest event on record

Source: NOAA

Watch a reef come alive

From bare steel to living reef

These photos follow one CCell reef under the pier at Royal Resorts, Cancun. A gentle electric current draws minerals out of the seawater to form natural rock on the frame. Marine life soon follows.

September 2021 - a bare steel frame goes in at 2.5 m depth.

A white mineral crust starts to coat the frame.

The frame is now a solid rock reef, ready for life to settle.

Some of the species recorded on the reef, including Caribbean sea squirts, arrow crabs, cushion sea stars and foureye butterflyfish (CCell)

And then the fish arrive

Within six months the reef had become a living structure: shelter and feeding ground for fish, corals, molluscs and other reef life, in a spot that had little habitat before.

~6 mmof new rock a month

87%aragonite - the mineral corals build with

6 monthsbare frame to living reef

Read the full Royal Resorts story

Monitoring built in

We build the monitoring system too

CCell designs, builds and runs its own monitoring system, CCell Sense, as part of our reef solutions. The same electronics that grow the reef also report on it, so you don't have to take our word that it is working - you can see the data for yourself.

Underwater surveysPhotos of your reef and the life arriving on it from regular dive surveys, ready to share with staff, guests, boards and regulators.
Reef and water dataTemperature, pH, turbidity, waves and currents, sent over 4G or 5G to an online dashboard.
Part of your reportingMonthly or quarterly reports you can drop into sustainability and ESG reporting.

More about CCell Sense

The CCell Sense online dashboard (CCell)

AI-assisted fish detection, in development

The CCell Sense unit, made in the UK

What it means for you

Sustainability that pays its way

You come to us to protect a coast. These benefits come built in with every reef.

A stronger case with regulators

Nature-based schemes that add habitat are increasingly favoured by regulators, which can make permits easier to win.

For everyone

Staff who are proud of it

A real project your team can see, talk about and get involved in. Royal Resorts staff and guests told us they were proud to be part of it.

Hotels, authorities, ports

Customers who notice

Guests and communities can see the difference between a reef and a concrete wall, and they choose places that care for the coast.

Hotels, estates

A living attraction

Over time your reef becomes a snorkel and dive site, with the option of underwater sculptures and guest reef-building sessions.

Hotels and resorts

Evidence for your reporting

Survey photos and data from our own monitoring on habitat created and species recorded, ready for sustainability, biodiversity, ESG and SDG reports if you need it.

Owners, authorities, insurers

Value that grows

Concrete wears out over time. A reef gains rock, shelter and life every year it is in the water.

Everyone

For hotels and resorts

A reef your guests will want to see

CCell reefs can carry underwater sculptures and lighting, turning coastal protection into a dive and snorkel trail. Guests can even help, by attaching small steel shapes that grow into the reef over time.

Underwater sculpture trailsAt Telchac, Mexico, sculptures based on the Mayan zodiac sit within a CCell reef, creating a new dive site for the village.
Guest reef-buildingSupervised sessions where guests add their own shape to the reef - a memory that keeps growing.
Under piers and jettiesReefs installed under existing structures, where shellfish help keep the water clear.

See what we do for hotels and resorts

Illustration of a sculpture reef unit (CCell)

Manta ray and shark sculptures at stages of growth (illustration)

A guest's steel heart, ready to be added to a reef

Microscope image of mineral rock growing on bamboo, from our research with the University of Bath (CCell)

Lighter materials

Built to become part of the sea

We are moving our reefs towards natural and bio-based materials such as bamboo, coconut coir and sisal fibre, with the rock that grows on them doing the long-term work.

Natural fibresOur Telchac reef used sisal fibre, a renewable material native to the Yucatan.
Rock grown, not quarriedThe reef's rock comes from minerals already in the seawater.
Researched with universitiesUniversity of Bath (materials), Cornell, Imperial College London and the Ocean Conservation Trust (marine monitoring), the Living Reefs Foundation (coral resilience).

Explore our research

The global goals

Where our work meets the UN goals

We don't build reefs to tick boxes, but if you report against the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a CCell reef overlaps with these.

Life below water

New reef habitat helps protect and restore marine and coastal ecosystems.Target 14.2

Climate action

Coasts better able to withstand storms and rising seas.Target 13.1

Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable communities

Sustainable cities and communities

Fewer losses from water-related disasters for coastal towns.Target 11.5

Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and growth

Decent work and economic growth

Reef attractions and local build teams support sustainable tourism and jobs.Target 8.9

Targets: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Icons: UN Sustainable Development Goals, used under the UN SDG guidelines. The content of this page has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States.

How it adds up for you

The same reef, different returns

Hotels and resortsA wider beach plus a reef attraction and a sustainability story guests believe.Hotels and resorts Coastal authoritiesProtection that adds habitat and supports biodiversity targets.Coastal authorities Ports and marinasHabitat under jetties and shellfish that help keep water clear.Ports and marinas Estates and communitiesA protected shoreline with more life on it, not a wall.Estates and communities Insurers, NGOs and researchersLong-term habitat data and sites for research and conservation.Partner with us

Get started

Protect your coast. Grow a reef.

Every project starts with a free first step. We will show you what your coast needs, and what could live there.

Start a free Beach Stability Check Find the right first step

Or email Paul Savill, Head of Client Services: paul@ccell.eco