Saving One Turtle at a time with ‘Promos for a Cause’

Every year up to 12m tonnes of plastic enters the ocean.

Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. is a not-for-profit, environmental organisation, based in Airlie Beach that works in the community to protect marine life and the aquatic environment of the iconic Whitsundays region by:

1. Removing marine debris to reduce its impacts.
2. Reducing land-based litter and littering behaviours to prevent the occurrence of local marine debris.
3. Recycling and transforming ocean plastics to reduce landfill.
4. Providing care for sick and injured marine turtles.

Since it was established it 2009, Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. has removed a staggering 250,000 kilos of marine debris/litter from the Whitsundays region.

Compass Group Australia, is continuously looking for ways to support its sustainability ambition of becoming environmental game-changers. Connecting that ambition with our brands, Compass Group Australia’s Foodbuy retail team developed a campaign with the assistance of the Coca-Cola EuroPacific team and partnered with Eco Barge Clean Seas, supporting a cause that resonated deeply with Compass Group Australia, Foodbuy Australia and CCEP.

In 2022 the Foodbuy retail team together with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners ran a campaign to raise $10,000 for Eco Barge by donating 10 cents from the sale of every Mount Franklin and Pump water purchased in a Compass Amigo outlet.

As a part of our continued commitment towards the ‘Promos for a Cause’ initiative for Compass Group, Foodbuy ran this concept again in 2024, raising another $10,000 for Eco Barge. The funds will go towards purchasing new heaters and filters for the five tanks at the Whitsunday Turtle Centre, creating a more comfortable environment for sick and injured turtles to recover.

Eco Barge works with the Whitsunday Marine Debris Removal Program to remove marine debris from the highly impacted beaches of the Whitsunday Islands, the Clean Street and Creeks Program to target land-based debris, and its Ocean Trash Recycle Shack processes the collected debris so it can be recycled and transformed into reusable products. Eco Barge Clean Seas also founded the Whitsunday Turtle Rescue Centre in 2013, which cares for sick and injured marine turtles found in the area.

Eco Barge works with a band of over 2,400 volunteers, local community groups and schools to educate individuals and enable them to proactively address the issues of marine debris.

Following the conclusion of the campaign, we were thrilled to announce that in addition to the $10,000 received in 2022, the maximum donation of $10,000 was achieved again in 2024, which will go towards helping support Eco Barge’s mission to protect the precious marine life and aquatic environment in the Whitsunday Region.