“Marine debris is a significant problem that has a direct impact on oceans, aquatic life and ultimately human health,” said Henry Sténson, executive vice president of Corporate Communications and Sustainability Affairs for the Volvo Group. “One of the core values of the Volvo Group is environmental care, and we are pleased to be one of the sponsors of the Ocean Summit on Marine Debris in order to help bring attention to this important global environmental issue.”
Summit attendees will hear from Sténson; Bjӧrn Lyrvall, Ambassador of Sweden to the U.S.; U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.); Dr. Sandra Whitehouse, senior policy advisor for Ocean Conservancy; Catherine Novelli, Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, U.S. State Department; Dr. Lisa Svensson, Sweden’s Ambassador for Oceans, Seas and Freshwater; Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo; Wendy Schmidt, president of The Schmidt Family Foundation; Kersti Stranqvist, senior vice president for Sustainability, SCA, a leading global hygiene and forest products company; and Daniel Wild, head of Sustainability Investing Research and Development, RobecoSAM, an international investment company with a specific focus on sustainability investments.
Professor Dennis Nixon, Rhode Island Sea Grant Director for the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, will open and close the event. Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, will introduce a brief film about marine debris, and Charlie Enright, skipper of the Volvo Ocean Race Team Alvimedica, will narrate it.
“Our biggest challenge in fighting the pollution of the oceans is ignorance,” Frostad said. “I am honored to be part of the Ocean Summit to help bring more attention to a growing catastrophe that is the responsibility of all of us to reverse.”
The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the world’s most demanding team sporting events. Newport is the only North American stopover during this nine-month race, which began in Alicante, Spain, and will end in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Volvo Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. The Volvo Group, which employs about 110,000 people, has production facilities in 18 countries and sells its products in more than 190 markets. In 2014, the Volvo Group’s sales amounted to about $38.2 billion. The Volvo Group is a publicly-held company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and are traded OTC in the U.S. For more information, please visit
www.volvogroup.com or
www.volvogroup.mobi if you are using your mobile phone.
For further information, please contact John Mies, Volvo Group North America, phone 336-543-9094, email
john.mies@volvo.com
.
