RIYADH, 29 April 2008 — More than 600 Samsung Engineering employees swapped construction equipment for trash bags for the whole day on Saturday to help clean up the dirty shorelines of the Eastern Province. The volunteers collected garbage washed ashore and picked up randomly-thrown paper, clothes, cans, worn-out tires and other rubbish from a long section of the beach in Jubail as part of a major environmental initiative launched by this giant Korean company.
“The occasion marked the 38th foundation day celebrations of Samsung Engineering,” Shin-Youl Kang, vice president and resident director of Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd., which represent Samsung Engineering, said here yesterday. He said that around 1,500 workers, mainly Samsung staffers, have so far taken part in the three major clean-up events. The Samsung employees have so far removed tons of wastes and cleaned about 30 short sections of Jubail’s beaches.
The beach cleaning campaign was also attended by top Samsung managers including Corporate Administration Manager Sung-Jin Park and senior project and site managers like Sung Mo Koo, Chang Jo Ha, Jin Sung Kim, Frank Choi and Taejoon Jung. Workers from Samsung spent whole day walking along the shore collecting rubbish including random papers, cloth rags, old car parts and other types of pollutants.
Referring to the enthusiasm of Samsung employees in the beach cleaning campaign, Kang said that the campaign focused on the beaches near Jubail, which is rich in biodiversity and natural beauty. The Jubail beaches are arguably the most beautiful in Saudi Arabia.
Kang said that this campaign also seeks to encourage people to take care of the environment and raise awareness of the human impact on nature.
This environmental campaign launched by Samsung Engineering is significant keeping in view the coastline of the Kingdom, which exceeds 1,840 km in length.
As the climate is extremely arid, much of Saudi Arabia’s biological productivity is confined to narrow coastal strips and originates mostly from habitats such as coral reefs, mangrove and seagrass communities found in shallow embayments etc. “Hence, it is our duty to keep our shores clean,” said Kang.
He further said: “We are trying to encourage people to help and tell them that it can be fun to clean.”
Kang, who recently donated SR130,000 to a Saudi institution involved in the treatment and rehabilitation of children suffering from Down’s Syndrome, said that the company is running this environmental initiative with the slogan “Running Together 2008.”
Samsung, which has a business philosophy to help and integrate itself with the local society, has won several contracts in the Kingdom.
