On Wednesday, Kia received the Sustainability Management of the Year award at Newsweek’s 2025 Great Disruptive Innovators in the Global Automotive Industry ceremony that took place at the World Trade Center in New York.
The automaker was honored for its global partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch nonprofit organization. Established in 2022, the three-year collaboration aims to create a more sustainable planet.
Since 2022, the prominent global news magazine Newsweek has been hosting the Great Disruptive Innovators in the Global Automotive Industry awards annually. This year’s ceremony recognized individuals, organizations, and products driving creative change in the automotive sector across ten categories.
The partnership between Kia and The Ocean Cleanup has been leading initiatives to collect and recycle ocean plastic waste since 2022. Their efforts have been praised for spearheading sustainable management practices and generating social value.
Since the partnership’s inception, Kia has provided crucial financial resources and extensive support to The Ocean Cleanup. This backing has enabled the organization to remove over one million pounds (approximately 450,000 kg) of plastic waste from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP).
Kia’s Executive Vice President of Customer Experience, Ryu Chang Seung, said the company’s partnership with The Ocean Cleanup has led to groundbreaking outcomes in removing marine plastic. He noted that Kia remains committed to advancing sustainable innovation and finding new ways to utilize the collected materials.
Julian Searle, Chief Business Development Officer at The Ocean Cleanup, emphasized that their ongoing collaboration with Kia has significantly advanced their mission of removing 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040. He noted that they plan to maintain this close partnership to continue reducing plastic waste in the oceans and to help build a more sustainable future.
