Booz Allen Teams with Ocean Conservancy to Help Lead Annual Coastal Cleanup
To protect and improve the health of global waterways and oceans, Booz Allen Hamilton has joined the non-profit Ocean Conservancy (OC) as a Living Waters Partner to support its annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC)—the world’s largest volunteer effort of its kind.
On a single day in September, ICC volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities collect and remove trash from beaches, rivers, lakefronts, and waterways throughout the world, document what they find, and help change behaviors that produce marine debris. The target date for the 24th Annual ICC is Saturday, September 19, 2009, and related events are scheduled in late September and early October.
Booz Allen provided pro bono services to help develop a 3-year strategic plan to expand the ICC from a one-day activity to a sustainable, long-term program that will prevent marine debris from occurring. The firm also provided financial support and leveraged its national volunteer base.
Senior vice president Dave Aldrich says the ICC has wide appeal for staff across geographies to get involved in shoreline cleanup. “Booz Allen supports a great deal of environmental work, and oceans are important to our clients, such as NOAA, the U.S. Navy, and EPA,” Aldrich says. “We’re helping the ICC work toward larger, broader, and more lasting ecological outcomes.”
During the 2008 ICC, 390,881 individuals collected more than 6.8 million pounds of trash—the weight of 18 blue whales—along shorelines at 6,485 sites in 104 countries and 42 U.S. states. The greatest contributors toward marine debris:
- Cigarettes and cigarette filters, comprising 28% of total amount
- Plastic bags
- Food wrappers and containers
Underwater cleanups were also conducted by over 10,000 divers. Of the 443 animals found entangled by marine debris and abandoned fishing gear, 268 were discovered alive and released.
“This effort blends with the firm’s Core Values,” says principal Joe Suarez. “Booz Allen is directly involved with OC leadership to help them develop more effective strategies to make the ICC more impactful.”
For the 2009 ICC, staff may register online to participate in a local event, or contact Community Relations to join a Booz Allen team. Employees are encouraged to invite their family, friends, and clients.
Information provided by the volunteers is indexed in the OC’s yearly country-by-country, state-by-state report on marine debris. Since 1972, the OC has used research, education, and science-based advocacy to promote healthy ocean ecosystems.
story posted September 9, 2009
