Through the Volvo For Life Fund, Volvo Cars launches two new coastal health initiatives in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and the University of Gothenburg, unveiled at The Ocean Race Summit in Alicante, Spain. These projects aim to preserve biodiversity and support local communities.
Volvo Cars is approaching the world's current triple planetary crises - climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, with a holistic approach to sustainability. We are going beyond addressing our CO2 footprint, by expanding our focus to include biodiversity impacts and working with ocean and coastal health. With the global philanthropic Volvo For Life Fund, Volvo Cars has the ambition to positively impact a million lives over time through supporting initiatives in the communities in which we operate.
“As a company rooted in the coastal city of Gothenburg in Sweden, we hold the health of our coastal ecosystems close to our heart,” says Vanessa Butani, head of global sustainability at Volvo Cars, who made the announcement at the Ocean Race Summit in Alicante, Spain.
The two new Volvo For Life Fund partners will work directly with restoring coastal health. Through these collaborations, we will help preserve and restore biodiversity along coastal landscapes in two different parts of the world, including regions where Volvo Cars operates. We aim for the projects to have a long-lasting positive impact on the biodiversity, natural ecosystems and population in these areas. By working collaboratively with our partners, we are able to support projects that aim to empower people, restore and preserve our planet, and provide protection when natural disasters strike.
The collaboration with The Nature Conservancy will focus on preserving biodiversity through mangrove restoration in non-protected areas of the Indian Sundarbans. The Indian Sundarbans is one of the world’s largest mangrove forests, providing a critical habitat for vulnerable species, including the Bengal tiger, and offering local communities protection from floods. With our support, The Nature Conservancy aims to improve the coastal ecosystem and sustain local livelihoods through a number of community-led interventions.
Together with the University of Gothenburg, we are helping to restore eelgrass in Hakefjorden on Sweden’s West Coast, close to our global headquarters. Based on the latest biodiversity research, planting eelgrass meadows should help re-establish biodiverse ecosystems and improve water quality for nearby coastal residents and help wider research into coastal ecosystems.â¯â¯â¯â¯
“The timing and place of this announcement is no coincidence. We are at the Ocean Race Summit to encourage action for ocean health and we are proud to announce our new partners here. Sustainability is about so much more than CO2 emissions, and Volvo Cars continue to take significant steps to address to address our impact, including coastal health,” Vanessa Butani continues.
In August, Volvo Cars announced an extension of its partnership with The Ocean Race including a joint mission on ocean health, and their summit is a key pillar for accelerating actions for ocean health.
About the Volvo For Life Fund
The Volvo For Life Fund is a global initiative that extends our commitment to safety beyond the road. It supports projects focused on empowering people, restoring and preserving the environment, and providing relief when natural disasters strike. The fund continues our tradition of safety, aiming to build resilience and hope for people, communities and ecosystems.