Healing the Baltic Sea is a shared responsibility – Consumer purchases can make a difference
This year, Kiilto will donate 0.02€ for every Kiilto, Erisan, Serto or Linna consumer product sold between 01 August 2023 and 30 September 2023, with a minimum promise of 24,000€ to the John Nurminen Foundation.
Our shared Baltic Sea is sick
Global climate change and local environmental pressures plague the Baltic Sea, affecting marine biodiversity and the lives of 90 million people in the catchment area. Despite being the youngest sea on Earth, the Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted bodies of water in Europe. Current human activities related to farming, transport, fishing, and tourism threaten the Baltic Sea’s unique and fragile ecosystems.
Eutrophication, or harmful plant and algae blooms, is the Baltic Sea’s biggest environmental problem. Up to 97% of the Baltic Sea suffers from eutrophication due to past and present excess nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus from artificial fertilizers. This form of marine suffocation, blocks sunlight from reaching the seabed, depletes water oxygen levels, and disrupts local habitats and food chains, causing the Baltic’s infamous “dead zones.”
Image: Mikko Vipio
Environmental challenges facing the Baltic Sea like eutrophication are not only catastrophic in scale, but also in time to heal. HELCOM estimates the same water remains in the Baltic Sea for up to 30 years due to its shallow and narrow exchange between the North Sea. If we do not act now, these problems are here to stay.
John Nurminen works for the Baltic Sea across generations
Since it was founded in 1992, the John Nurminen Foundation has launched 43 marine environment projects, of which 34 have been completed in cooperation with partners. Notable achievements to date include a 75% reduction in the phosphorus load of the Gulf of Finland. But tangible steps to improve the ecological status of the Baltic Sea go beyond eliminating excess nutrient load, addressing environmental risks like overfishing, wastewater treatment, and recycling.
The Foundation is also an award-winning communicator and producer of maritime cultural content. Part of the Foundation’s mission is to ensure that the stories of the Baltic Sea are passed on to future generations to increase the understanding of why it should be protected. As a result, the Foundation has published almost 50 books, organized various exhibitions and events, and cooperatively created the Loki online service, home to 1,000 stories.
Life on the outer islands of the Gulf of Finland in 1936. Image: Kymenlaakso Museum.
You shop, Kiilto donates, with a minimum promise of 24,000€ to the John Nurminen Foundation
Kiilto has supported the John Nurminen Foundation’s concrete work to safeguard the Baltic Sea as a corporate partner since 2021. This year, Kiilto will donate 0.02€ for every Kiilto, Erisan, Serto or Linna consumer product sold between 01 August 2023 and 30 September 2023, with a minimum promise of 24,000€ . Now consumers can help protect the marine health and cultural heritage of Baltic Sea while choosing Nordic Swan labelled products and detergents. Each purchase can make a difference.
Almost all of Kiilto’s operating countries are on the shores of the Baltic Sea. With a Promise to the Environment embedded in Kiilto’s culture and vision for 2080, it is only natural Kiilto participates in celebrating the Baltic Sea Day on 31 August 2023 and beyond.
Contact
Kaisa Tuppura
Head of Marketing, Consumer Goods
kaisa.tuppura@kiilto.com
Tags:
