Bywaters Secures Victory at Planet Mark Awards 2018

Bywaters has reigned supreme at this year’s Planet Mark Awards, after receiving an accolade in the category of ‘Communication-Sustainability Campaign: Best example of promotional plan of activities around a single issue or achievement (e.g. social media / PR)’.

From the remarkable number of entrants, only 38 shortlisted finalists made the cut and were whittled down to 12 separate winners across four awards categories, namely: Engage, Measure, Communicate, and Overall.

The Planet Mark Awards

The Planet Mark Awards recognise individuals who are taking positive strides towards improving sustainability within their organisations by communicating the impact of environmental negligence to industry bodies, customers and the general public.

Hosted at Sadlers Wells Theatre on the 12^th October, the proceedings celebrated Planet Mark’s sustainability champions and enlightened leaders, where Bywaters won over the judging panel with its company mascot, ‘Plasticus’ the blue whale made of recovered plastic.

As one of our most famous campaigns so far, Plasticus was constructed from materials collected at Bywaters’ beach clean events in the south east, together with businesses and households disposing from East London.

Sian Glover, head of CSR at Bywaters, said:

“When Sky News contacted us about wanting to build a huge whale from recovered plastic to highlight the issue I immediately told them I wanted Bywaters to be involved so we contributed the plastics from beach cleans in the south east for the sculpture.

“Plasticus was a clever way of showing people what the consequence of throwing plastic bottles into the river or the sea looks like. We’re now keen to explore with Sky News how we can further help them in getting the message out there.”

Plasticus’ Awareness-Raising Tour

This huge plastic whale highlights the severity of plastic pollutants in the ocean, with the 250 kg mass of the structure representing the amount of plastic released into our ocean every second. This equates to a subsequent 8 million tonnes per annum: a figure that means plastic in the sea will outweigh fish by 2050 if we don’t change our ways.

Plasticus has proven a great brand ambassador both for Bywaters and for environmental awareness. The whale’s tour around the UK has included 12 different locations where it has greeted members of the public, who were given the responsibility of naming the sculpture.

The campaign went on to see the best part of half a million people joining the whale throughout his two-week spell around the country; providing amazing awareness of the problem of single-use plastics, and engaging industry bodies and members of the public to address and take action on this ongoing issue.

Bywaters’ Commitment to Fighting Plastic Pollution

This tour has also helped educate young children and students about the adverse effects of plastic pollution, and what they can do in their schools and local communities to make a difference.

Plasticus, among other initiatives launched this year, embodies Bywaters’ passion and drive to find solutions that will tackle the global plastics problem, which we will continue to do in 2019.