Enthusiastic team members of Rock-based Sharp’s Brewery, as a main sponsor of Surfers Against Sewage’s (SAS) Million Mile Clean (through its Atlantic Pale Ale brand), donned their waterproofs and braved the gruelling elements last weekend (Sunday 3rd October) to support the final mile of the biggest and most active beach clean campaign ever!
To maximise support for the clean-up campaign, the team is also packaging up 100 Atlantic Clean Up Pods which will be sent to Sharp’s Atlantic Pale Ale customers across the UK over the next few months. These consist of branded litter pickers, reusable bags and hand sanitiser which customers can utilise to conduct their own regular beach cleans and litter picks.
Over recent years, Sharp’s Atlantic Pale Ale has supported an extensive number of popular beach cleans across different areas of the county, including National Trust’s Holywell Bay, Falmouth’s Greenbank beach and Polzeath, one of the most local beaches to the brewery. Those who attended on October 3rd came from various of Sharp’s business divisions including marketing, finance and brewing, demonstrating that where Cornwall’s beaches are concerned, everyone is unified regardless of job roles and responsibilities.
Sharp’s Atlantic Pale Ale has also in recent years donated significant funds to SAS via its work on Keynvor – the Cornish word for ocean – a project that first combined the voice of the sea with new music from ambient artist Sebastian Plano and then went on to create the industry-first playable record made from recycled plastic washed up on beaches with Nick Mulvey. In addition, via an advertising campaign through Good Loop, Sharp’s contributed a further £25,000 to the Cornwall-based environmental charity.
As Sharp’s Atlantic Pale Ale is a main sponsor of the 2021 SAS Million Mile Beach Clean, the enthusiastic brewery team joined members of the SAS team, and over 100 supporters and volunteers, at Perranporth Beach on 3rd October. They even brought the Sharp’s mobile beer truck with them which was outside The Seiners Arms serving participants over the age of 18 a free taste of Sharp’s Atlantic Pale Ale at the end of the clean as a great big thanks for their efforts.
The Million Mile Clean is a new campaign developed by SAS which connects beach cleaning action throughout the year and has a target of getting 100,000 volunteers walking 10 miles whilst cleaning the places they love. After more than a year of isolation, social distancing and reduced physical activity, the Million Mile Clean reconnects communities with the environment, whilst promoting the benefits of volunteering for both mental health and physical wellbeing.
James Nicholls, marketing controller at Sharp’s Brewery, said, “I speak on behalf of the team when I saw how delighted we were to support the final mile of the Million Mile Beach Clean over the weekend. It was inspirational to see so many out in force despite the rather undesirable weather conditions! With our brewery situated so near the coast in Rock, Cornwall, taking care of our beaches and coastline is really important to us. We are always considering ways in which we can continue to protect the coast and are keen to conduct more Sharp’s Brewery specific beach cleans in the future. Wherever possible, we’re adding to our ongoing support of SAS with activities such as this.”
Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage says, “The Million Mile Clean has now become the biggest volunteer activation to help protect some of the country’s best beaches, inspiring tens of thousands of people to take action to protect the ocean. We’ve been overwhelmed by the support, particularly from local Cornish communities, who have led the beach clean effort at so many special stretches of coastline. It was brilliant to have Sharp’s Brewery supporting us and contributing both financially and in person to our biggest, collective beach clean yet. We hit the Millionth Mile this weekend at Perranporth as our movement continues to grow, protecting beaches from plastic pollution and other waste so people and wildlife can thrive on our shores.”
Further demonstrating its passion towards its home and surroundings in Cornwall, Sharp’s has contributed over £30k to support the work of Cornwall Council with beach awards since 2015.
For further information on Sharp’s Brewery’s ongoing support to various local initiatives, visit the website at www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk.
