Hyundai Motor is partnering with the ocean conservation organisation Healthy Seas to combat ocean pollution, nurture sustainable marine ecosystems, and support a circular economy.

As the company leading the way in clean and future mobility solutions, cleaning up and preventing marine pollution aligns with Hyundai’s global strategy. By re-establishing a healthy relationship with nature, Hyundai plans to improve human wellbeing, in line with its vision of “Progress for Humanity”.

By collaborating with Healthy Seas, Hyundai will be not only providing a cleaner environment for generations to come but also shaping sustainable futures for the communities it works with.

“As a purpose-driven company, Hyundai understands that recycling and sustainability aren’t trends, but rather a need for our society,” says Michael Cole, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe. “Through our progressive, inclusive, and responsible spirit, we are committed to the development of a sustainable society. This is why our strategy tackles environmental problems head on and works with communities to safeguard a sustainable future.”

Protecting the ocean with Healthy Seas

The world’s seas and oceans play a major role in sustaining life on Earth, but they are constantly threatened. A joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Environment Programme estimates that more than 580 million kilogrammes of fishing gear are discarded in the ocean annually, accounting for one-tenth of all marine litter. Hyundai has chosen to partner with Healthy Seas because the Dutch organisation strives to combat this issue.

Healthy Seas’ activities are threefold. Firstly, they work with teams of volunteer divers from the charity organisation Ghost Diving to recover abandoned fishing nets, known as ‘ghost nets’, from coral reefs and shipwrecks. These fragile ecosystems are underwater hotspots for marine biodiversity. By removing marine debris and ocean plastic, Healthy Seas ensures the survival of a healthy underwater ecosystem for a sustainable future.

Healthy Seas also organises educational programmes at local schools to teach children the importance of keeping the world’s oceans clean. In hopes of preventing more ocean pollution, younger generations learn about the negative effects it can have on marine and human life.

Finally, Healthy Seas collaborates with fishermen, fish farms, and local communities to prevent fishing nets from ending up in landfills or the environment. Together, they work on solutions to dispose of the nets responsibly.

Working with a network of partners, Healthy Seas ensures plastic waste is recycled into new materials in a circular economy. Reclaimed fishing nets and other nylon waste can become ECONYL®, a regenerated nylon yarn that can, in turn, be used to make new products.

Working together to improve communities

This partnership with Hyundai will allow Healthy Seas to expand its programmes all over Europe. Initial partnership activities will begin April 2021 with clean-up efforts to be rolled out in Greece, followed by Norway, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and France, as well as in the North and Mediterranean Seas.

“We’re excited to begin this cooperation with Hyundai on a pan-European level. It is clear that we share the same passion for protecting the environment with Hyundai’s leadership in developing sustainable mobility solutions and our experience protecting marine ecosystems,” says Veronika Mikos, Director of Healthy Seas.

“With Hyundai’s support and our environmental expertise, we look forward to expanding our operations to clean up the oceans and seas on an even larger scale.”

Hyundai’s main role in the partnership is supporting Healthy Seas with funding, so complex clean-up activities can come to fruition. The first scheduled activity is planned to take place in early summer in Greece to help a local community by removing fishing nets and other debris lying on the seabed, floating on the surface, and strewn across the beaches.

This partnership between Hyundai Motor and Healthy Seas will initially be for one year with a possibility for extension.