ShipMates participate in Coastal Cleanup

The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), a global and annual event by Ocean Conservancy (OC) saw a new set of participants last 17 September when 33 employees and friends of ShipServ joined from 3 different locations in the Philippines and 1 from Denmark.

This activity served as ShipServ’s Corporate Social Responsibility and one of the company’s employee engagement program for 2022.

According to OC, the ICC “is the world's largest volunteer effort for ocean's health and is being conducted every third Saturday of September of each year. In partnership with volunteer organizations and individuals around the globe, ICC engages people to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways, identify the sources of debris and change the behaviors that allow trash into the water in the first place. The Cleanup also aims to raise environmental awareness and provide information which will guide and influence governments, corporations, and industries in developing smart solutions to the marine debris problem.”

The main location for the Philippine cleanup was at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA). The LPPCHEA activity was participated in by 25 people and was led by ShipServ’s VP for SaaS Sales and Operations, Marivic Segismundo, who is also an ICC volunteer and coordinator since 2018.

LPPCHEA is a wetland area and home to more than 80 wild bird species, 40 of which are migratory birds. Though protected, it is often inundated by ocean trash especially during the southwest monsoon season. Equipped with trash data forms, sacks, tongs, and gloves, the Manila Shipmates did their best efforts to clear the location assigned to them by collecting ocean debris and then sorting them into categories to comply with the data entry methodology of Ocean Conservancy.

Here are some of the insights shared by ShipMates on their coastal cleanup experience:

” We found a lot of waste mostly plastic... It was a great day on the beach with a lot of fresh air and I am happy to support the event and Team Aqua ” – Henrik Gram Madsen/VP Account Management

“I was surprised at the amount of plastic trash in the LPPCHEA area. I found myself collecting a lot of plastic and unbiodegradable bags and even managed to fill a huge sack in such a short time. I was happy to participate in this worthwhile activity and hope to do more of this in the future.” – Oliva Veran, Senior Accounting Manager

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