Viking Line donates 50,000 euros to the Baltic Sea and switches to new, biodegradable plastic bags
Viking Line is donating 50,000 euros for environmental work in the Baltic Sea. The donation is being given to the Finnish environmental organization Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association and to the University of Helsinki’s marine biology research station in Tvärminne. The money comes from the sale of plastic carrier bags on the company’s vessels. The bags, which are produced in Merikarvia, Finland, are made from a mixture that includes recycled plastic, with part of this material coming from plastic recycling on board. The agent Poly-Bi has been added to the material, which enables the plastic to decompose if it ends up in nature. The project was launched in 2014 as part of Viking Line’s environmental commitment to reduce plastic waste on board its vessels.
Viking Line’s successful environmental campaign with plastic bags will also continue this year. As a result of the campaign, some of the revenue from each plastic carrier bag sold in the vessels’ tax- and duty-free stores is donated to environmental work in the Baltic Sea. This year the recipients are the Finnish environmental organization Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association and the Tvärminne Zoological Station. Viking Line emphasizes the benefits of working directly with environmental organizations and with environmental researchers, since they work with great focus to achieve visible, concrete results in the immediate environment.
“Our vessels operate daily in the archipelago, which is where our company has its roots. We want to take our responsibility for the marine environment in different ways, in part by offering our passengers environmentally-friendly alternatives on board. Along with our own environmental efforts, we want to support organizations that work concretely to protect the archipelago,” says Johanna Boijer-Svahnström, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Viking Line.
The new biodegradable plastic carrier bags have a brand-new design and will cost 0.30 euros or SEK 2.99.
For further information, please contact:
- Johanna Boijer-Svahnström, Vice President Corporate Communications, Viking Line Abp, Mariehamn, johanna.boijer@vikingline.com, tel. +358 18 27 000
- Eleonora Hansi, Communications Manager, Viking Line, Stockholm, eleonora.hansi@vikingline.com, tel. + 46 8 452 4141
- Christa Grönlund, Communications Manager, Viking Line, Helsinki, christa.gronlund@vikingline.com, tel. + 358 9 123 5242
- Juppe Suhonen, Managing Director, Seapack Oy, Merikarvia, tel. +358 2 55 00400
Links:
Viking Line’s Sustainability Report: www.vikingline.com
Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association: http://www.hallskargardenren.fi/en
Tvärminne Zoological Station: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/research-stations/tvarminne-zoological-station
Facts about Poly-Bi: https://poly-bi.com/en/index.html
Viking Line is a public limited company and a market-leading brand in passenger traffic on the northern Baltic Sea. It offers passenger services, recreation and cargo carrier services on the vessels Gabriella, Mariella, Amorella, Rosella, Viking Cinderella, Viking XPRS and on the flagship Viking Grace.
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