- Following the success of Sustainable Tour 2021, this year, Hyundai Motor Europe has provided DAN Europe ambassadors Manuel Bustelo and Alana Alvarez with a KONA Electric to travel through the UK and Ireland
- A full programme, featuring conferences, special events, and meetings with stakeholders and the diving community, will inform about ocean acidification
- This undertaking showcases the scope of Hyundai’s CSV approach to conserve marine ecosystems with Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving
- Promoting zero-emission mobility, the KONA Electric will only be recharged with renewable energy from the IONITY charging network
Last month, Divers Alert Network Europe (DAN Europe) kicked off its second Sustainable Tour with the support of Hyundai Motor Europe. DAN Europe is an international medical and research non-profit organisation dedicated to the health and safety of divers, and since 2021, it has embarked on an annual Sustainable Tour throughout Europe to educate the public about how excess CO2 emissions and ocean acidification threaten marine and human life. One of DAN Europe’s goals is to promote sustainable lifestyles and corporate responsibility in order to protect the waters around Europe. To support the idea of sustainable lifestyles, the Sustainable Tour will be completed in a KONA Electric, which will only be recharged with renewable energy from the IONITY charging network.
Sustainable Tour 2022: UK and Ireland
From July to September, the DAN Europe ambassadors, Manuel Bustelo and Alana Alvarez – who also led last year’s Sustainable Tour – will travel the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland. While in the British Isles, Bustelo and Alvarez will undertake a full programme, including around 50 diving centre visits, conferences such as ‘The Link between Climate Change and Ocean Acidification’, the ‘DAN Europe by the Sea’ Instagram contest, and meetings with national and global ocean acidification networks to explore how the water sports community can help in monitoring this marine threat.
The Sustainable Tour holds special importance because it connects Hyundai’s various CSV projects and initiatives. Through its partnership with the marine conservation organisation Healthy Seas, Hyundai aims to combat ocean pollution and nurture sustainable marine ecosystems by helping Healthy Seas organise educational activities for children and fishing communities, as well as ocean clean-up events with the Dutch charity foundation Ghost Diving, whose founder and chairman, Pascal van Erp, is also the ambassador for DAN Europe’s Sustainable Tour.
The issue: ocean acidification
Excess carbon dioxide emissions are not only harmful to life on earth – they are detrimental to marine life as well. On top of accelerating climate change and raising global temperatures, the ocean also absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When too much carbon dioxide is dissolved in seawater, its acidity increases, known as ocean acidification. In combination with other human factors, this phenomenon negatively affects many marine species, especially oysters and corals.
To maintain healthy oceans and a liveable planet, humankind must drastically reduce carbon emissions. Only by sharing this information is it possible to support marine planning decisions and adapt future policies.
Touring in a KONA Electric
In line with the company’s commitment to Progress for Humanity, Hyundai is combining ocean protection with zero-emission mobility by providing the DAN Europe ambassadors with a KONA Electric eSUV. The model is equipped with a 64-kWh battery for an estimated 484-kilometre range, according to WLTP.
Bustelo and Alvarez will only recharge their KONA Electric with renewable energy provided by the IONITY charging network. Committed to sustainability, IONITY chargers deliver 100 per cent renewable energy for both emission-free and carbon-neutral driving. Currently, there are more than 1,800 high-power charge points across 24 European countries within the IONITY network.
Hyundai also lent DAN Europe a KONA Electric for the Sustainable Tour 2021. Last year, Bustelo and Alvarez travelled 25,000 kilometres across 17 countries in Europe, raising awareness among stakeholders and the diving community.
