ISF Cambodia And Coca-Cola Cambodia Join Hands With Phnom Penh Residents To Drive Community Cleanliness And Environmental Stewardship
To encourage people to stop littering and keep the city streets clean, ISF Cambodia and Cambodia Beverage Company Ltd (Coca-Cola Cambodia) have partnered with over 400 youths and local communities in October 2024 to take meaningful steps toward a cleaner environment.
This initiative empowers youth and villagers to take charge of their environment by stopping littering and adopting proper waste management practices. This project highlights the collective commitment of key stakeholders and underscores the significance of corporate-community partnerships in promoting environmental sustainability in Cambodia.
Public littering in Cambodia is not only visually unappealing, but it also has detrimental effects on the well-being of the community and the overall ecosystem.
“I'm really concerned about the current state of the environment because I often see both young and old people throwing plastic bags in public places," shared an ISF student who participated in the project. "For example, sometimes after they eat or drink something, they just throw the waste right there. I’m really happy to join today’s clean-up because littering can affect the health of children and the elderly, causing colds or even diseases like dengue fever, as it creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes.”
The impact of littering on urban communities is profound, particularly in terms of health. Accumulated trash has led to the proliferation of disease-carrying pests and the blockage of drainage systems.
Soeung Chara, ISF’s Head of Operations emphasised that a clean environment is the cornerstone to the overall development of a child.
“If the neighborhood where they live and play is surrounded with trash, children are most likely to suffer health problems, causing disruption to their education. It is our collective responsibility to drive sustainable practices within our centres and the community we serve, fostering a clean and thriving community for every child,” Chara said.
Coca-Cola Cambodia and ISF Cambodia have jointly initiated the "Towards a Greener Future for Cambodia" project, which seeks to address the problem of littering and excessive waste creation by educating and mobilising the participation of community stakeholders in a joint clean-up effort.
The initiatives brought together 133 youths and residents, 80 local authorities, and 192 volunteers from Coca-Cola Cambodia and ISF Cambodia.
Sambath Munyvorleak, Coca-Cola Cambodia’s Country Director of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability stated:
At Coca-Cola Cambodia, we believe that building a thriving community and planet is the ultimate mission to pursue, and we pursue it, because we care about people and the environment where we operate. By partnering with ISF Cambodia and encouraging our staff members to do volunteering in this cleanup project, we are making meaningful progress towards achieving that mission. This is more than a project, it’s our stride towards achieving our 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy “Our Choice, Our Future” which guides us to make the right choices in how we act today to deliver a sustainable future.
The project took place over September and October 2024, bringing together communities through two main events. The first event in Tangov Krom village, Khan Chbar Ampov, and the second in Plerng Chhes R’tes village, Khan Kambol, saw 200 and 205 participants, respectively.
Together, the two events cleaned up public streets and areas heavily littered with trash, making our neighbourhoods cleaner and safer. After the clean-ups, volunteers led engaging sessions on waste reduction, recycling, and proper waste segregation. The day ended on a high note, reinforcing the stakeholders’ shared commitment to supporting education for vulnerable children and building a more sustainable future.
ISF is proud to announce that the collective effort has resulted in the removal of over 500 kilogrammes of trash from the Chbar Ampov and Kambol districts, which otherwise could have spread to various areas and further contaminated the environment. The project also made a positive impact on the community, as participants reported an increase in environmental awareness and a stronger commitment to better waste management practices, contributing to a cleaner Phnom Penh and Greener Future for Cambodia.
This press release was supplied.