Viking Line has donated 40,000 euros to environmental efforts to protect the Baltic Sea. The donation, given to four different environmental organizations, comes from the sale of plastic carrier bags on board Viking Line’s vessels. The plastic bags are made from recycled plastic, with part of the material coming from our own on-board recycling. Among the activities to be funded by the donation are information campaigns, environmental work and the maintenance of recycling centres and lavatories in the Baltic Sea archipelagos.
Viking Line’s successful environmental campaign with plastic bags has also continued this year. Through the campaign, part of the proceeds from the sale of every plastic bag in the Company’s on-board duty- and tax-free shops is being donated to environmental work to help the Baltic Sea. This year, the decision was made to support the following organizations:
the Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG), Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association in Finland, the John Nurminen Foundation and the Baltic Sea Fund. Viking Line emphasizes the benefits of working directly in partnership with these environmental organizations since they are focused on achieving visible and concrete results in the local environment.
To celebrate Finland’s one hundred years of independence, Viking Line wants to collect funds to protect the Baltic Sea and finance related research. During the centenary, Viking Line also wants to spotlight its environmental work through various efforts and campaigns in order to encourage other Finnish companies and organizations that work on the Baltic Sea and in the local environment to take part – together we can achieve more.
“Viking Line’s vessels sail daily in the Baltic Sea archipelagos, and we want to shoulder our responsibility for the environment at different levels. Along with our own environmental efforts, we want to support the organizations that work concretely to protect the archipelagos,” says Johanna Boijer-Svahnström, Viking Line’s Vice President of Corporate Communciations.
The plastic bag campaign was launched in the spring of 2014. The duty-free bags are made of recycled plastic and this year featured a brand-new design.