Four Strong Partners start cleanup in Romania
The second-longest river in Europe pushes its way from Germany to Romania, where it opens out into the Black Sea. The Danube is among the most polluted bodies of water on the European continent. That has an effect on the sea: a large portion of the world’s garbage reaches the oceans via flowing waterways. “Water is an essential resource. Our future will only continue to be livable if we permanently and sustainably protect drinking water,” says Rüdiger Recknagel, Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation. “Each one of us four partners are all pursuing a vision of making our own contributions to environmental protection. Thanks to our collaboration, we were able to double the boat’s operating time this year over the previous year. That shows that teamwork is the key to success.”
In addition to the five-week cleanup action, the partners are organizing various education and information offerings for children as well as cleanup activities on land over the course of the year. Last year, the Audi Environmental Foundation, BABOR, and everwave together removed more than 3.2 tons of plastic from the Danube in Serbia. That is the equivalent of 110,340 one liter plastic bottles. In addition to collecting garbage, the participants want to set a cross-industry example: the mission is picking up even more speed this year with the Ferry Porsche Foundation on board as a new cooperation partner.
Common vision: protect our waters
Every year, more than 11 million tons of plastic reach our oceans, a large portion of that via rivers. If this trend continues, the annual plastic accumulation in the sea could almost triple by 2040 (The PEW Charitable Trust & SYSTEMIQ 2020). The Aachen-based green startup everwave has set a goal for itself to meet this global challenge. In addition to collecting garbage, everwave supports environmentally friendly recycling as well as communication with the political sphere, media, and society. With the Audi Environmental Foundation, the BABOR BEAUTY GROUP, and the Ferry Porsche Foundation, everwave has found partners that share its vision of a sustainable future.
