CONCORDIA MARITIME ORGANISED SUCCESSFUL CLEANUP DAY IN LÅNGEDRAG
Representatives from Concordia Maritime, other Stena companies, members of the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club and local residents all gathered in Långedrag, on the coast just outside of Gothenburg, on Saturday to take part in a coastal cleanup operation.
The event was organised by Concordia Maritime in collaboration with the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation and the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club (GKSS). The objective was to clean the shoreline around the marina in Långedrag and to raise awareness of the major environmental problems created by litter and waste.
Representatives from the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation presented information about marine litter, what impact it has and how it can be stopped. Some key facts: 80% of all litter in the sea comes from land. By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans. 1 m3 = the equivalent of 5 bathtubs of rubbish that gets washed up on the Bohus coast every hour. Plastic fragments into microplastics and then turns into nanoparticles, which will never disappear and the consequences of this are as yet unknown. More facts are available at www.hsr.se.
Photos: Magnus Gotander
“As a shipping company, we feel that we have a particular responsibility to care for the world’s oceans and we have a strong focus on safety, transport efficiency and employer responsibility in our sustainability strategy. Now, by working collaboratively with the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, we want to show a wider commitment and practical involvement, and also help spread important information about what action can be taken,” explains Kim Ullman, CEO of Concordia Maritime.
“We are grateful for the collaborative support of the companies and organisations that help spread our message. A cleanup day is an important part of our practical efforts to stimulate interest in environmental issues and a meaningful way to raise awareness of the extent of littering,” explains Andreas Frössberg, Project Manager at Keep Sweden Tidy and responsible on Saturday for informing others about the all-important work of the Foundation.
“With the ocean as our playing field, this is definitely an initiative that we want to support, and we thought that the concept of Concordia Maritime and Keep Sweden Tidy joining together for this event was very good. Marine litter is one of the most noticeable environmental changes for the yachting community and that is why any action, symbolic or otherwise, is of utmost importance. We hope to be able to organise another event like this together with Concordia Maritime,” says John Holmgren, Board member of the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club.
In addition to Saturday’s cleanup activity, Concordia Maritime has taken the initiative to work together with the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation to produce an e-learning course. The aim is to spread information and raise awareness about plastic waste in the oceans and to increase environmental engagement among the general public and staff. The e-learning course will be launched on the company’s website www.concordiamaritime.com in November.
