Emily Penn

Founder & Director at eXXpedition

Emily Penn is an ocean advocate, skipper and impassioned expert on plastic pollution. For 15 years she’s been at the helm of change: putting the plastics issue on the map, shaping the conversation and catalysing action.

She graduated from Cambridge with a degree in Architecture and a job offer in Australia, but, after rounding the globe on the record-breaking biofuelled boat Earthrace, her life changed forever.

Emily founded eXXpedition, a series of all-women sailing voyages, on a mission to help people grasp the true challenge of ocean plastic pollution, so they can use their skills to solve it from sea to source.

She’s sailed 80,000 miles - from the tropics to the Arctic - leading voyages that have changed science and lives. She’s inspired and worked with everyone from community leaders to CEOs and scientists to heads of state. In 2021 she was awarded the British Empire Medal by the Queen.

Emily Penn’s keynote "What’s Your Superpower?" chronicled her journey from aspiring architect to ocean advocate. Her inspiring narrative on tackling microplastics and driving systemic change urged attendees to take personal accountability for their environmental impact.