Business leaders take action at Manly Cove Beach for the Take 3 CEO Clean Up

Take 3 for the Sea’s CEO Clean Up proved a big success on Friday as more than 50 business leaders swapped offices and boardrooms for a morning of education and action at Manly Cove Beach.

Having taken place on the Central Coast for the past two years the Sydney event was an opportunity for a new group of business leaders to roll up their sleeves and make a difference in the community and show leadership on sustainability.

The unique event encourages CEOs, directors and business owners to take time out of their busy schedules to clean up their local community while fundraising to support our work to rid the world of plastic pollution through education and action.

And they did just that! In just one hour in Manly, those in attendance collected 27,603 individual pieces of waste, weighing 87 kilograms. This included more than 20,000 pieces of microplastic, film and polystyrene as well as some unique items, including a leather jacket and a parking pole and sign.

Left; Take 3 staff and volunteers complete a litter audit, Right; a Take 3 volunteer poses with the parking sign!

Among the guests in attendances were many of our corporate partners and sponsors including education partner SC Johnson, fundraising partner AVEDA, Four Pines, Avid, Benojo and LEP Digital.

AVEDA Brand General Manager Clint Piper said: “This is a great opportunity to come down to a beach and be part of the solution and remove plastic. It is amazing how much microplastic is on the beach, so it is important to raise awareness so that we can avoid it in the future.”

Kurt Hegvold, General Manager of SC Johnson Australia New Zealand added: “We are a very proud partner of Take 3 and have been for the last three years. We are big believers in the core mantra of Take 3, which is to educate and take action, which is exactly what this event is about.

“We fell in love with the Take 3 message that small actions, by many, can build a real impact and those that lead from the front and take responsibility and accountability, like those here at the CEO Clean Up, are doing just that.”

It wasn’t just CEOs and business leaders in attendance with Take 3 honoured to welcome independent federal MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, and state liberal MP for Manly, James Griffin, to the event.

Left; James Griffin delivers a talk to the group post event. Right; Zali Steggall and Take 3 CEO Sarah Beard pose for a photo 

Both MPs joined the clean up while also giving talks about the importance of business leaders partnering with organisations like Take 3.

“Take 3 for the Sea is a wonderful organisation that speaks to the heart of what concerns people around Australia and the world, and that is the amount of litter and in particular plastic that makes its way into our environment,” said James Griffin.

“It’s wonderful to be here but it is also quite frightening to see the amount of plastic that needs to be removed. Government is one part of the solution, but true action will happen when business leaders and corporates, partner with charities like Take 3 for the Sea to impact real change and this is a real demonstration of that. Not just through money raised but also the networks created, it is a big step in the right direction.”

The day began with welcomes from Take 3 CEO Sarah Beard and co-founder Roberta Dixon-Valk before an inspirational talk from pioneering Australian scuba diver, documentary maker, photographer, author, painter and marine conservationist Valerie Taylor.

Left; Valerie Taylor and Take 3 staff, Right; A group of business leaders take action to remove waste 

The guests then split into groups of three to remove the plastic and other waste from the beach and surrounding areas. We were also privileged to be joined by divers from the Underwater Research Group of NSW, who took to the water to remove even more hazardous waste.

The Sydney event was supported by NRMA Marine, with many of the participants arriving via a fast ferry from Sydney’s Circular Quay to Manly for the clean-up.

Take 3 would like to thank all those who attended the event and everyone who donated. There is still time to donate by visiting https://www.ceocleanup.com/donate/

Images courtesy of Phillip Maenpaa, STUDIO ARK.