TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana has shown commitment to protecting the environment to improve the health and economic activities of host communities by collaborating with United Way Ghana to launch an environment project with a focus on tree planting and beach cleaning.
Beach littering poses a vast and growing threat to the marine and coastal environment. As an organization that believes in preserving the environment, TotalEnergies, partnered with United Way Ghana and EcoZoil Limited to rally the residents of Bortianor in the fight against plastic waste at the beaches.
As part of the TotalEnergies Action! Program, 86 employees of the company joined close to 90 young men and women to clean a 3km stretch at Bortianor Beach to mark the 2022 Clean-up Day. Within a span of 3 hours, 11,000kg items of litter were gathered during the cleanup at the beach on 23rd September 2022.
TotalEnergies Action! Program seeks to promote the vitality of the company’s host communities and regions by supporting young people. It is designed to give all employees the time and the means to get involved, making it possible for them to devote up to 3 days of their working time every year to citizenship initiatives.
In addition to the clean-up exercise, TotalEnergies donated five (5) litter bins to the community. These bins will be stationed along the beach to help visitors and workers dispose of their litter properly, that is separating plastics, glass, and other waste.
Speaking at the closing event, Felix Kissiedu-Addi, Executive Director of United Way Ghana said: “United Way Ghana strives to enhance the overall state of cleanliness and waste management at the shores of Ghana through a public-private partnership. Collaborating with TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana PLC with support from EcoZoil Limited on this beach clean-up has yielded great results. We call on Corporate Ghana and individuals to join the fight to keep our beaches clean.”
Mrs Abitha Odame-Nyanteh, the General Manager of Ecozoil in her remarks during the
exercise commended TotalEnergies and United Way Ghana for coming onboard to keep the beaches clean. She said Ecozoil Ltd currently has recruited over 2000 operatives along the coast of Ghana, stretching from the Western region to Volta region without any support or contract from the government.
Mrs. Odame-Nyanteh, therefore, called on the government to give Ecozoil the support to clean the Beaches. She also called on private beaches to contact Ecozoil to help them clean their beaches. She further commended the people of Bortianor for keeping the Bortianor beach clean, she mentioned it is one of the few beaches devoid of open defecation as compared to other beaches.
Mr Bright Dokosi, Human Resource Manager of TotalEnergies Ghana PLC, at the kick-off event said: “It is unfortunate to find items like plastic bags, bottles, cans, bottle caps, and lids at our beaches, all of which wreak havoc on the coastal ecosystem. There are ways to help mitigate this unfortunate situation by proper disposal of waste and/or by recycling. Education is key but backing it with action is vital to cause the much-needed change.
We are thankful to our partners and all our volunteers here to help protect and preserve our beaches and marine life. Your personal efforts may seem small, but they really do make a big difference and will have a positive impact on our community.”
The Chief Fisherman of Bortianor, Nii Akwei, expressed his appreciation to TotalEnergies, United Way Ghana, and EcoZoil for supporting the community with this project.
He said: “We are very happy for bringing this project to this community. We will put in an effort to make the beach clean-up a periodic activity. The bins will go a long way to “help us manage waste at the Beach.’
The partnership built for this project is a United Way Ghana initiative that contributes to the 6th, 13th, 14th, and 17th Sustainable Development Goals, namely, Clean Water and Sanitation, Climate Action, Life under Water, and Partnerships for the Goals.
