Baltic Sea Day has grown into a phenomenon – Sponda makes the occasion accessible to thousands of Finns
Baltic Sea Day celebrates the work done for the Baltic Sea and encourages people to enjoy our unique local sea and the opportunities it offers. Sponda donated the media facilities at its shopping centres for use by Baltic Sea Day.
Held on Thursday, 27 August, Baltic Sea Day encourages people to enjoy their local sea and take concrete action to help it.
The response was excellent. More than 300 000 fish meals were served in Finnish schools, restaurants and retirement homes, thousands of people took a dip in their local waters, learned more about the history of the Baltic Sea, prepared a Baltic Sea menu and shared their Baltic Sea memories.
Over 100 events and more than 40 Baltic Sea actions
Launched by the John Nurminen Foundation in 2019, Baltic Sea Day has grown into a major event in just one year. Over 100 events were organised in connection with Baltic Sea Day 2020 and more than 40 Baltic Sea actions were taken. In addition to Finland, Baltic Sea Day was celebrated in Estonia, Sweden and Russia.
“The Baltic Sea is much more than an annual disaster of blue-green algae. We created Baltic Sea Day to celebrate the story of the Baltic Sea and the significant projects and progress achieved through co-operation between various parties,” says Tuula Putkinen, Communications Director at the John Nurminen Foundation.
We want to celebrate the significant projects and progress achieved through co-operation between various parties.
The positive event increases the visibility of the work done by people and organisations in various fields, led by the John Nurminen Foundation, for a couple of decades now. The common goal has been to reduce the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, promote biodiversity and preserve the cultural history of the sea area.
“The coast of the Gulf of Finland is a treasure trove of culture and history, with its shipwreck parks and stories of life on the sea. Our goal is to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy this ecologically and culturally diverse sea and the environment around it,” Putkinen explains.
Significant environmental and cultural actions based on co-operation
Putkinen has been impressed by the enthusiasm shown by various parties in making Baltic Sea Day the event it has become.
“Sponda’s retail properties help our message reach hundreds of thousands of people.”
“Sponda is a great example of that enthusiasm. Sponda’s centrally located retail properties help our message reach hundreds of thousands of people. It makes it possible for us to reach audiences that would otherwise be almost impossible to reach. Sponda has also been a significant supporter of our work to protect the Baltic Sea,” Putkinen adds.
According to Pirkko Airaksinen, Sustainability Manager at Sponda, Baltic Sea co-operation is an important element of the company’s sustainability efforts.
“Environmental responsibility is one of the cornerstones of our strategy, and our climate targets support the goals of Baltic Sea Day. The actions we take can help mitigate climate change, which accelerates the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea and reduces biodiversity. Our climate target is to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2030.”
Shopping centres give a voice to important themes
Airaksinen believes that, as a large owner of shopping centres, Sponda has a significant role in highlighting important themes and issues in society. More than 650,000 people pass through Sponda’s centrally located shopping centres each week.
“We are pleased to offer our premises for use by organisations that promote the common good. Each year, tens of free events that help create community spirit are organised at our shopping centres to enrich urban culture and support those who need our help,” Airaksinen explains.
Sponda’s co-operation with Baltic Sea Day is aimed at encouraging everyone in Finland to take pleasure in our local sea and motivating customers as well as tenant companies to get involved in the effort to help the Baltic Sea.
Shopping centres provide an effective forum for highlighting important issues in society.
“There is tremendous power in co-operation. We should enjoy our shared sea and ensure that future generations will also have the opportunity to fish, swim, sail and dive in the Baltic Sea,” Airaksinen adds.
Baltic Sea themed visualisations will be shown at shopping centres until 30 August. The exhibition A Sea of Memories will remain open in Citycenter until 20 September 2020. The exhibition is located in retail space situated at the corner of Keskuskatu and Kaivokatu.
Read more about Baltic Sea Day or support the protection of the Baltic Sea >>