The 52 SUPER SERIES, the world’s leading grand prix monohull circuit, will broaden its sustainability outreach from the 2022 season forwards as it partners with new cross sports initiative Kick Out Plastic.
Sustainability has long since become a vital part of the circuit’s DNA, delivering passionate, pragmatic messages to its global audience, seeking to influence behaviors and develop positive legacies. From the early initial beach clean ups and successfully eliminating single use plastics the 52 SUPER SERIES moved on over seven years to develop annual strategies and deliver on them. Team ambassadors have become the driving force within the circuit whilst all the principal stakeholders, organizations, venues, sponsors, suppliers, have united to drive important initiatives.
The new partnership with Kick Out Plastic will take the 52 SUPER SERIES messages to a new level, reaching a new, bigger audience outside of sailing. Kick Out Plastic – which was founded in 2021 – so far embraces nearly 30 ambassadors from the worlds of football, different winter sports, tennis, hockey with a social media reach of more than 12 million individuals.
The objective of Kick Out Plastic is to emulate the success of pro-equality “Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football” campaign and add weight to the global drive to eliminate the habitual, too easy use of plastics from daily life and to change behaviors by eliminating daily ‘bad habits’ which are destroying the planet.
The reach of the #KOP ambassadors is substantial. 19-year-old FC Barcelona rising star Pedri alone has 5,2 million Instagram followers.
Agustin Zulueta, CEO of the 52 SUPER SERIES states:
“For us it’s really important to keep our long time Sustainability Program running. Kick Out Plastic is a great partner for us as they seek to influence people – especially right now a younger generation – using the media channels of their huge team of ambassadors from different sports and their entertaining, informative educational program such workshops and legacy initiatives. We are very much looking forward to hosting some of their great ambassadors at our events!”
Lars Böcking, sustainability director for the 52 SUPER SERIES explains:
“One of the weaknesses of the sustainability messaging within sailing is that it has become an audience that is so attuned to environmental marketing that the effect is becomes diluted in the noise. Certainly, the movement has real momentum but we would like to contribute and influence taking the obvious messages about our threatened natural and marine environments to a wider audience, a broader demographic using our proven, beautiful, strong images and initiatives.”
The Kick Out Plastic program will adhere very much to the adage ‘think global, act local’. Whilst tapping into the wider pan-sport audience the 52 SUPER SERIES will examine and develop strong initiatives which are specific to each venue, for example strengthening and highlighting work with homelessness in Palma, Mallorca, aligning with Yachting Gives Back to help alleviate the homelessness and urban poverty in Palma. Correspondingly the objective is to appoint opinion forming local Kick Out Plastic ambassadors, drawn from sailing or other sports, to increase the volume and impact of local initiatives.
On a global level Kick Out Plastic is about educating and influencing across many different sports:
- To promote awareness of environmental problems and possible solutions.
- To raise money for local NGOs so that they can continue to develop projects that promote or embed sustainability within their communities.
- To encourage and support sports fans, players, clubs, authorities, leagues, sponsors and suppliers to reduce their reliance on single-use plastic and reduce their carbon footprint.
- To influence the professional sports industry to be a role model in matters of environmental protection.
- To freely share information on good practices and solutions that are good for the environment.
- To educate young athletes on the importance of respecting the environment.
- To create and generate content that resonates with the sporting community.
- To collaborate with media outlets and partners to increase attention and interest to the cause.
