AS the countdown continues for the Ardagh Glass Packaging World Oceans Day Swim on Saturday, June 10, the event organisers have taken the opportunity to thank their dedicated supporters and partners.

The Ardagh Glass Packaging World Oceans Day Swim on June 10 is a long-distance ocean swim, starting and finishing at the Durban Beach Club, located on Durban’s promenade. Competitors have the option to choose between four distances: 800m, a mile (1.6km), 3.2km or the main event, the 5km swim.

As with any major event, there are a host of suppliers and partners who work together to make the day a success, but this year’s World Oceans Day Swim enjoys a particularly close synergy with the event’s title sponsor, Ardagh Glass Packaging (formerly Consol Glass).

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Sarah Ferguson, the driving force behind the event, is a passionate conservationist, and the South African national team swimmer is using the Ardagh Glass Packaging World Oceans Day Swim to draw her two passions together. The result is an event that is closely tied to the aims of its beneficiary, Breathe, a conservation non-profit organisation focused on eliminating plastic pollution from the ocean.

The event’s title sponsor, Ardagh Glass Packaging, has a keen sustainability focus that in many ways mirrors that of Breathe, while complementing the aims of World Oceans Day. The relationship between Ferguson and Ardagh began a while back when the company was running its #IChanged2050 campaign which called for consumers to make responsible packaging choices that are good for the planet and for our oceans. It is not surprising, therefore, that the company has chosen to support Ferguson in her fight for healthier seas.

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“We are delighted to work alongside Sarah to raise awareness about one of the greatest threats to the health of our oceans: pollution from single-use packaging materials,” said Dale Carolin, Ardagh Glass Packaging – Africa’s senior group executive, Marketing and Commercial. “Glass is made from natural ingredients and can be safely reused and endlessly recycled, making it the perfect packaging choice for a better tomorrow.”

The funds raised from the event will be used exclusively for education programmes and projects run by Breathe aimed at educating people about oceans and plastic pollution.

Entries for the Ardagh Glass Packaging World Oceans Day Swim are open at roag.org, and more information about Breathe can be found at breatheconservation.org.

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