Peter Lyon
April 17, 2025
Plastic pollution on land and sea is a major environmental issue. Microplastics have been found in every ocean, even in the most remote regions and deep-sea trenches. The tiny particles of this anthropogenic material have been found buried in Antarctic sea ice, inside the guts of marine animals inhabiting the deepest ocean trenches, and in drinking water around the world. UNESCO tells us that there are over 50 trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans today forming huge garbage patches bigger than the size of France.
As you might expect, some awards recognize companies and individuals that endeavor to prevent, minimize and remove plastics from the oceans.
This week, Kia won the ‘Sustainability Disruptor of the Year’ at the 2025 Newsweek Auto Disruptor Awards. The award recognizes the brand’s three-year partnership with The Ocean Cleanup and its initiatives to remove legacy plastics from the world’s oceans. The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic.
This prestigious award highlights Kia’s commitment to environmental sustainability, its ongoing support of The Ocean Cleanup’s large-scale efforts to extract plastic from the ocean, and the utilisation of recycled plastic in Kia accessories.
Since the launch of the partnership in 2022, Kia has played an integral role in The Ocean Cleanup’s operations, contributing financial resources, technical expertise, and in-kind support, including logistical, mobility and research assistance, to accelerate the removal of plastic waste from the ocean. The collaboration has also led to innovations to advance the recycling of ocean plastics and their application in Kia accessories.
As Kia and The Ocean Cleanup mark three years of collaboration, the Newsweek ‘Sustainability Disruptor of the Year’ award – which celebrates the brands driving transformative change in the automotive industry – underscores the organisations’ multiple achievements in environmental sustainability. To date, the partnership has contributed to the removal of over one million pounds of plastic from the world’s largest accumulation of floating waste – the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – located between the west coast of the US and Hawaii, and covering an area three times the size of France.
Charles Ryu, Executive Vice President and Head of Kia’s Global Brand & CX Division said: “Over the past three years, our partnership with The Ocean Cleanup has reduced the amount of plastic waste in our oceans.” But it’s still just a drop in the ocean—excuse the pun. A lot more needs to be done.
Julian Searle, Chief Development Officer at The Ocean Cleanup, commented: “Kia’s support in advancing our ocean cleanup initiatives marks an essential step toward achieving our broader goal of ridding the world’s oceans of plastic.”
Three years after the launch of Kia’s partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, the collaboration continues to evolve, with plans to expand support for river cleanup initiatives in the future. By tackling plastic pollution at its source, Kia and The Ocean Cleanup aim to further strengthen their commitment to cleaning the world’s oceans and pursuing long-term sustainability.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
Every carmaker should be putting as much effort into cleaning up the oceans as Kia. The brand’s ongoing partnership with The Ocean Cleanup aligns with the its wider sustainability goals. Beyond cleanup operations, Kia and The Ocean Cleanup will continue to drive innovation in ocean plastic recycling, supporting research and development aimed at integrating recycled materials into future mobility solutions.
