Asking your employees to engage in beach clean-ups is one way to increase your green credentials and that is exactly what Alaska Airlines is doing.
The US carrier and the Surfrider Foundation have announced a national coastal protection partnership focused on reducing plastic waste and engaging employees and communities in beach clean-ups across the US West Coast and throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
Coinciding with April’s Earth Month, Alaska and Surfrider are inviting Alaska employees and West Coast communities, across California, Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest, to clean up beaches through Surfrider’s extensive network of grassroots leaders and volunteers. They will also work together on ongoing clean-up and restoration projects and collaborate on education and advocacy to support the reduction of single-use plastics.
We are excited to share our passion for bringing people together, and for sustainability, to partner on this journey.
Scott Coughlan, director of sustainability at Alaska Airlines
The new partners are both West-coast-based organisations but may seem unusual bedfellows. Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. The Surfrider Foundation is a nonprofit grassroots organization founded by a small group of Malibu surfers in 1984. It is now a powerful activist network with more than a million supporters dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches.
Surfrider’s CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen explains their shared values: “The Surfrider Foundation is proud to partner with Alaska Airlines, which has been a leader in reducing single-use plastics in air travel,” said. “Starting in 2018 with the elimination of straws, they are now encouraging their passengers to use reusables and #fillbeforeyoufly, while also eliminating plastics cups. We are excited to extend their commitment to reduce plastic pollution to coastal communities through clean-ups and local education.”
Meanwhile Scott Coughlan, director of sustainability at Alaska Airlines said: “The Surfrider team truly walks the talk, rolling up their sleeves to clean up beaches and other impacted areas. We are excited to share our passion for bringing people together, and for sustainability, to partner on this journey.”
Alaska, the seventh largest airline in North America, has claimed to be the first airline to eliminate plastic water bottles, cups, straws, stir sticks and citrus picks from in-flight service, annually reducing more than 2.2 million pounds of plastic waste. The carrier has set voluntary sustainability goals for reducing its environmental impact in carbon, waste, and water – including replacing the top five waste-producing items in onboard service by 2025.
