All of us here at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis have long been watching as the cleanliness of waterways all over the globe has deteriorated, and we know that our future depends on the longevity and sustainability of these valuable sources. Kia Corporation and the Ocean Cleanup have now formally begun a 7-year corporation to work on the many possible solutions to create cleaner waterways in the future. The official signing ceremony took place at Kia Headquarters in Seoul on April 27 to officially signify this exciting partnership.
The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization located in the Netherlands, focusing on the development and implementation of technologies to permanently rid the world’s oceans of plastic. The Ocean Cleanup is now developing large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for necessary removal and focuses on amazing technology solutions to halt and extract river plastic before it makes its way to the seas. Kia is now pledging to support the Ocean Cleanup financially to properly create a resource circulation system that will help avoid harvested plastics finding their hazardous way back into our fledgling environment.
For the next 7 years, Kia will offer valuable support to the Ocean Cleanup as an official global partner via financial contributions and in-kind supplies to support the much-needed construction of various river cleaning devices. Kia is also on track to supply 4 electric vehicles with 3 Niro EVs and one EV6 for the organization in the Netherlands to utilize, and in turn, the organization will provide important research results and intensely gleaned data on reducing plastic pollution with Kia. Our lofty goals do not simply involve making changes to our product and service areas, but to make changes that the planet is now desperate for.
Taking cue from what other vendors and seasoned experts are doing in Hawaii, this cooperation is the next step rooted deeply in important efforts to ensure that harmful materials do not present themselves back in the environment while bettering cleanup efforts and assuring the next generations are protected. Another great way that Kia will take steps towards a more sustainable future is with our all-new Niro revealed at the Seoul Mobility Show last fall. Recycling has long been such an integral and needed component nationwide, and we are even making the robust pledge of phasing out the use of animal leather considered to harm any species for future vehicles.
It's not just the alleviation of plastic bag use in the grocery store that aids in keeping the ocean clean: plastics find their way into our precious waterways from wrappers, two-liter bottles, and many other receptacles that are considered garbage. When we loftily set our sights on creating sustainable mobility solutions for consumers and various societies worldwide, we wanted to inspire not only driving emotion, but a means of reassuring future generations that they would be able to inherit an Earth with promise, vitality, and all-around “greener pathways” to explore via four wheels.
