Corona targets marine plastic waste through islands protection pledge

To mark International Recycling Day (May 17), Corona has announced its partnership with Parley for the Oceans. The long-term partnership launches with a plan to protect 100 islands across regions near Mexico, the Maldives, Australia, Chile, Italy and the Dominican.

“We needed to take a stand and protect the heart and soul of our brand. We will spread our love for the oceans and make people understand that we need to take care of it, inspiring people to change their own behaviors. Corona is present in more than 180 countries and we have the opportunity and the responsibility to use that reach to be a voice for the oceans,” Corona’s global vice president Thiago Zanettini said.

An estimated eight million metric tonnes of plastic enters the oceans each year. If current pollution trends continue, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050.

Corona has previously engaged with local communities to promote beach cleanups as part of its Save the Beach initiative. The new partnership builds on this commitment and will use a multi-disciplinary approach through the Parley strategy of Avoid, Intercept and Redesign (AIR).

The AIR strategy, already used by firms such as Adidas, will see Corona assess its supply chain and create a long-term innovation pipeline that reduces and replaces plastic items that it currently uses. The brand already uses wood rather than plastic in its promotional material and has pledged to redesign Corona Sunsets – a series of festivals across the globe – to educate consumers on plastics.

Parley purpose

“Plastic is a design failure. To raise awareness and immediately reduce the production of new plastic, we invented Ocean Plastic from upcycled marine debris and developed a formula for long-term change — the Parley AIR Strategy,” Parley for the Oceans’ founder Cyrill Gutsch said.

“In Corona, we found the perfect partner to bring this philosophy and strategy to a new territory: the beverage sector. Economy caused this plastic problem in the first place, but with the transformative power of collaboration and eco-innovation, we can make it the key to the solution.”

The partnership also enlisted the help of ambassadors to implement the agenda across numerous countries. Marvel’s Australian-born actor Chris Hemsworth has been given an ambassador role alongside Mexico’s Diego Luna and others.

 

I’ve spent a large part of my life in and around the ocean, it’s where a lot of my happiest memories came from. If I had anxieties or worries I’d head to the ocean and it was always the place where I could reset and be 100% present. My experience in the Maldives made it obvious how our short-term use of plastic has a long-term damaging effect on our oceans. I’m thrilled to be a part of this program, because I want to inspire people to find a solution and protect the world’s oceans so future generations can enjoy them like I do. #100Islandsprotected #Sponsored

A post shared by Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth) on May 16, 2017 at 11:46pm PDT

Parley for the Oceans has partnered with global sportswear company Adidas and looks set to push around 7,000 pairs of trainers made from 95% ocean plastic into the market, alongside setting a new goal to produce one million ocean plastic pairs of trainers by 2017.

Speaking exclusively to edie last year, the Plastic Soup Foundation’s head of programmes Jeroen Dagevos claimed that a decision by the UK Government to introduce a national ban on microbeads would act as the first step in introducing a plastic circular economy.

The Foundation has partnered with Parley to launch the Ocean Clean Wash campaign. The campaign aims to align hundreds of companies and non-profits in a collaborative effort to change design models for clothing to prevent the breakdown of fibres.

Matt Mace