Albion and British Airways clear plastic from Brighton beach
Around 30 staff members from the Seagulls, British Airways Euroflyer, and the BHAFC Foundation spent a day cleaning up the beach around Palace Pier in Brighton.
The beach clean group walked from the BHAFC Foundation Community Hub down to Palace Pier in search of rubbish and debris on the beach.
In particular, the group was searching for plastic debris – small pieces of manmade items that get swept up from the tide and can be found under the pebbles.
After several hours of clearing litter, the team managed to fill many rubbish bags with litter and debris from across the beach.
Tom Harris, the club’s Sustainability Manager, said: “Environmental sustainability is so important to us as a club. We’re proud to be based in Brighton, and we want to do all we can to preserve and improve our local area.
“Incorporating sustainability into every aspect of our organisation is one of our key priorities, for the good of the planet as well as our local community.”
Matt Dorn, BHAFC Foundation CEO, said: “It was fantastic to see so many staff members eager to help, from both British Airways and the club.
“Our work is all about improving our local community for everyone, so we were only too happy to do our bit to clean up Brighton beach.
“We’re lucky enough to have this incredible beach right on our doorstep and it’s up to us to look after it.
“Sustainability is incredibly important to the club and the Foundation, and this beach clean was just a small part of our work in being as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible.”
Steve Allen, Chief Commercial Officer of BA Euroflyer, said: “Being based at London Gatwick means we are proudly part of the Sussex community.
“We were thrilled to join forces with our BHAFC partners to give something back and help preserve the natural beauty of our home.”
Earlier this year the club signed up to the United Nations Framework for Climate Change (UNFCC) Sports for Climate Action Framework, joining more than 200 sporting organisations from around the world to take action on climate change.
As part of becoming a signatory to the framework, the club has committed to reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, with the aim of reaching Net Zero by 2040. This is in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement which aims to limit global warming less than 1.5C above the pre-industrial average.