AirAsia Group with the support of Pattaya City Council and Project AWARE conducted another #Green24 event with a reef and beach cleaning activity May 7 at Pattaya Beach and Koh Sak. More than 800 volunteers took part in the activity aimed at highlighting the necessity to conserve biodiversity and create a cleaner environment.
Through the activity, AirAsia and AirAsia X groups strengthened their commitment towards climate change awareness.
Project AWARE is an international non-profit organization established by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) focusing on ocean protection and actively working to address ocean issues through a global network of scuba divers.
A total of 50 scuba volunteers from AirAsia (AirAsia employees) headed out to nearby island, Koh Sak, 23km off Pattaya and conducted Dive Against DebrisTM dives, collecting marine debris and objects that damage the reef at dive sites on Koh Sak. All marine debris was carefully recorded and submitted on Project AWARE’s website as part of the movement’s initiative to influence ocean policy and management, which will contribute towards the prevention of debris underwater.
Concurrently over 800 volunteers from AirAsia and the local Pattaya community joined forces to clean-up the north and south of Pattaya Beach in the morning.
Aireen Omar, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Berhad said, “The #GREEN24 movement was launched as a regional effort to raise the profile of climate change effects in this part of the world. We have been actively conducting programs which are designed to educate the public about the effects of climate change. This beach and reef clean-up is another measure we are taking to reach out to the various communities we serve in this region, as a call for everyone to work together towards keeping our environment sustainable for the future. We would like to thank the Pattaya City Council for their support in this vision, and to Project AWARE for working with AirAsia.
“AirAsia has been working to reduce emissions in many ways, for years. Substantial investment was made to launch internal projects which were carefully designed, tested and successfully implemented. Our sustainability policies are also being closely monitored and reevaluated. We are pleased to share that our internal fuel efficiency programs have helped to reduce 22,602 tons of CO2 emissions in 2015 alone,” Aireen Omar further added.
“Marine debris is one of the biggest ocean issues of our time. Project AWARE’s Dive Against DebrisTM program is a year-round, global initiative to increase debris removal efforts, protect marine life and help drive long-term change,” said Tiffany Leite, Project AWARE’s Director of Global Operations. “Scuba divers have the unique training and skills to remove and report litter found beneath the surface. Project AWARE is pleased to Dive Against DebrisTM alongside AirAsia dive volunteers for this event and we thank AirAsia for their commitment to a clean, healthy ocean.”
To date, the AirAsia and AirAsia X groups have held over 40 activities regionally which aimed to conserve energy, raise awareness of climate change effects in the region and develop sustainability-aware communities since the establishment of the #GREEN24 campaign in November 2015. For more information about the #GREEN24 movement, please visit www.airasia.com/GREEN24.
