Our natural world is threatened each day by human impacts that are causing and accelerating climate change and pollution. The planet is warming, oceans are debris fields of plastic and other waste and the earth’s great pollinators, bees, are dying. Collective action to effect change is the only option for ensuring the health of the planet and every living thing on it.
Kingspan’s Planet Passionate 10 year sustainability program is aimed at taking action to advance sustainability and help protect our environment. As part of this initiative, we are working each day to meet global commitments for protecting our natural world including cleaning up our waterways and saving the bees.
Cleaning up oceans and waterways
Our oceans are teeming with waste. Plastic bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags, take-out containers and plastic straws are just come of the liter clogging our waterways. It is estimated that 75 to 199 million tons of plastic is currently in our oceans, killing marine life and destroying ocean ecosystems. According to the UN Environment Program (UNEP), without action, the estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic currently entering the ocean annually will triple in the next 20 years.
Removing plastics and other waste from the earth’s waterways is critical for preserving marine ecosystems and protecting biodiversity. Kingspan is partnering with Australian clean tech start-up Seabin to collect ocean debris from harbor waters before it can reach the ocean. Seabin units work by skimming the surface of the water to collect plastics, microplastics, fibers and other debris that should not be in waterways. The collected debris is recycled or sent to a waste management facility.
Kingspan launched the partnership with Seabin in 2021 in Australia, helping to collect over 16 tons of marine litter in a 12-month period from Sydney Harbour. Last year, Kingspan partnered with Seabin on a second ocean cleanup initiative in Los Angeles, California at Marina del Rey, the largest man-made marina in North America. The project is expected to capture 120 tons of marine waste and microplastics from the waterway over a three-year period.
The partnership with Seabin follows a three-year partnership with the ECOALF Foundation to remove up to 150 tons of waste from the Mediterranean each year.
Fighting declines in bee populations
The world needs bees. Bees play an essential role in pollinating nearly 75% of the world’s crops that produce the food we eat. Bee populations around the world are declining in both managed honeybee colonies and wild populations. In the U.S., almost two-thirds of the bee population has been lost since World War II. Climate change, habitat loss, disease and pesticide use are factors contributing to dwindling bee populations.
As part of our Planet Passionate Communities initiative, which strives to create positive impacts for people and communities across the globe while advancing sustainability, a new local Kingspan initiative to save the bees and reconnect with nature is kicking off in April. Langley’s Planet Passionate Steering Committee sought to involve the local community to have an impact together and hold space for a new perspective on the relationship between humans and nature.
Working in partnership with Alvéole, a company that helps organizations launch sustainable bee programs for greener cities, Kingspan's plant in Langley, British Columbia kick off an urban bee project in April. The Langley facility will be installing and maintaining two beehives.
The program will feature a name the Queen Bees contest for young people ages 14 and under to name the queen bees for each hive and/or to create a drawing of the queen bees. People interested in the project can follow beehive progress here on the Alvéole site. This real-time activity feed features photos, videos, updates, bee data, foraging ranges, and much more.
Watch this space for more Kingspan Planet Passionate and Planet Passionate Communities updates.