Its signature little blue boxes might contain jewellery treasures of the very personal kind, but Tiffany & Co.’s new Outside the Blue Box initiative is intended to preserve a treasure the whole world can enjoy.

Through its namesake foundation, which was set up in 2000 to supply grants to bodies working in the fields of environmental preservation worldwide, the company has earmarked $1.4 million for Australia’s ailing Great Barrier Reef.

The money will be channelled into two different reef-rescue efforts. The first, called the Out of the Blue Box Innovation Challenge will see a $300,000 prize awarded to the most innovative finance, tech or social science idea dedicated to bolstering the reef’s resilience.

The second is a straight-up grant to Reef Aid, an arm of not-for-profit group Greening Australia. Its express goal to improve the water around the reef, given rapidly declining water quality plays a big part in the Natural Great Wonder’s demise.

“We believe there is reason for hope,” says Tiffany & Co. chairman and Foundation president Anisa Kamadoli Costa. “The Foundation is proud to support two of the leading organisations working to preserve the Great Barrier Reef, one of our planet’s most significant natural assets,” she added of the Reef, which is the world’s largest living organism.

“Together, we can find novel solutions to preserve this precious coral ecosystem and ensure that it is vibrant and healthy for generations to come.”

See here for details on the Out of the Blue Box Innovation Challenge. Entries close September 3, 2018.