Sustainability At Heart Of Regatta London As Partnership With Allianz Global Investors Announced

Regatta London, the UK’s newest waterborne mass participation challenge event has secured asset management firm Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) as Sustainability Partner for its inaugural event in 2019.

On Sunday September 29, thousands of rowers, kayakers and stand up paddle boarders will take on a 12 or 14-mile course along the River Thames in central London in the first event of its kind. 

Protection of the environment is at the heart of the event which has been created by Tideway, the company building London’s ‘super sewer’ to clean up the River Thames. AllianzGI, which manages the Allianz shareholding in Tideway, is a pioneer in sustainable investing, with decades of experience in managing a broad range of sustainable investment solutions. It will work in partnership with Regatta London to deliver the highest standards for sustainability in a mass participation event.

Plans for Regatta London 2019 include:

• No single use plastic bottles – all participants will be asked to bring their own water bottles and water refill points will be provided at the start and finish venues

• Those taking part will be encouraged to share transport to reduce vehicle movements across the event

• To avoid unnecessary use of metals or plastics, all finishers will receive a bespoke medal made of clay dug from the River Thames during the Tideway project. The clay has been excavated from approximately 25 metres below the Thames, which means that it was laid down approximately 52-54 million years ago. The medal’s lanyard is made from recycled plastic drinks bottles and can be reused after the event

• Finishers will also get a sustainable T-shirt with base fabric made from bamboo, charcoal and recycled Polyester yarn and which meets the Oekotex Standard 100 European Environment Protection Certificate. Distributing the T-shirts at the finish removes the need for the shirts to be packaged in single-use plastic bags

• Regatta London marks the final day of Recycle Week 2019. The event’s waste and recycling strategy includes: no leaflets at the event; clearly labelled and separate bins for different materials to ensure all waste can be recycled; discarded clothing to be donated to charity; and a focus on avoiding waste, not just recycling.

• Caterers will only use compostable cups and cutlery, paper straws and compostable packaging. 

• Regatta London is working closely with its suppliers to identify and use sustainable branding alternatives that do not include PVC or plastic, are manufactured using recycled content and are 100% recyclable. It also aims to re-use as much of our branding as possible for future years to limit unnecessary wastage. 

• Regatta London will use existing power from the venue where possible to reduce reliance on diesel generators.

Andrew Triggs Hodge, the former Olympic rower and Tideway Programme Manager who has set up Regatta London, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have AllianzGI as Sustainability Partner for the first Regatta London. Celebrating and protecting the environment is at the heart of the event and their values are completely in line with this. With their support, we want to make Regatta London the most sustainable mass participation event in the UK.”

Beatrix Anton-Groenemeyer, Chief Sustainability Officer at AllianzGI said: “We are very pleased to be working alongside our portfolio company, Tideway, to help establish Regatta London as the pre-eminent sustainable mass participation event in the UK, helping reconnect Londoners with the river. Regatta London’s passion for sustainability is a natural fit with AllianzGI’s commitment to investing in a sustainable way to the benefit our clients and society as a whole”.

Limelight Sports, the agency of the Active World, has been working with Regatta London Ltd to enable them to make their ambitious vision a reality. This has included the business plan development, event design and stakeholder negotiation. As the event gets closer Limelight will be implementing a full delivery plan for the Regatta London campaign and event.