● GROHE strengthens its commitment to sustainability and supports architect Marcella Hansch in her mission
● Shared vision of clean water through the reduction of plastic waste in oceans
● Co-operation blends in seamlessly with GROHE’s goal of avoiding plastic waste

Düsseldorf, Germany, 11 November 2019. With immediate effect, GROHE supports the Pacific Garbage Screening (PGS) project of Marcella Hansch. Together with an interdisciplinary team of natural scientists, engineers and marine biologists, the trained architect is working on the development of a water platform that will collect plastic waste before it damages the ecosystems in oceans and rivers. The vision of clean water through the reduction of plastic waste is also a central concern for GROHE. For one of the leading suppliers for full bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, sustainability and avoiding plastic are a matter of course. With the GROHE Blue water filter system, for example, disposable plastic bottles are a thing of the past. By using GROHE Blue, a family of four avoids an average of 760 plastic bottles per year – a benefit not only for consumers but also for the environment. In addition to self-initiated projects, GROHE also wants to contribute to the field of sustainability through co-operations, such as the alliance with PGS. GROHE thus does not only support the project financially, but representatives of GROHE and PGS in fact also want to join forces to draw the public's attention to the worldwide plastic problem and to forward-thinking solutions.

"We are very much looking forward to working with Marcella Hansch and PGS. The enormous amount of plastic waste in rivers and oceans are a collective problem and represent one of the greatest challenges of our time. This is why we directly decided to promote such an important project for the reduction of plastic waste,” explains Thomas Fuhr, CEO of Grohe AG, confirming the commitment: “We are particularly impressed with how passionately Marcella Hansch and her team dedicate themselves to their mission. They not only want to create a solution that extracts plastic from the ocean, but also encourage people to change their minds.” The co-operation with GROHE is also significant for Marcella Hansch: "Partnerships are incredibly important for us, because we can only tackle a global problem together. We are excited about the commitment of GROHE to avoid using plastic and reduce plastic as much as possible with regard to their products but also in their production chain. That is why we are very much looking forward to working with them.”

During a dive, Marcella Hansch encountered plastic waste instead of fish. She immediately realized that there was an urgent need for action. That is why she did an in-depth study of a technical solution for the reduction of plastic waste in the oceans in her thesis. Since then, the idea has continuously evolved: to prevent the pollution of the oceans, PGS concentrates on the moment where plastic waste enters the oceans. Specifically, the focus is on a floating platform. Its design makes it possible to extract plastic particles from the water. Since it is assumed that around 80% of plastic waste in the oceans is generated on land and rivers are regarded as major pathways, the platforms are to be used in rivers and estuaries.

Sustainability as an integral part of the GROHE brand
GROHE pursues a 360-degree sustainability approach that in equal measure encompasses employees, suppliers, customers, processes, products and its societal contribution. In this way, the global brand not only develops resource-saving product innovations that enable consumers to live more sustainably. GROHE also aims to become the first leading manufacturer in the sanitary sector with CO2-neutral production in 2020. The use of green electricity, photovoltaics and combined heat and power plants is of decisive importance here. From 2020, the sanitary brand will support two compensation projects in order to offset CO2 emissions, which have thus far not been reducible. For its continuous efforts, GROHE has once again been nominated for the top 3 "most sustainable big companies 2020" at the German Sustainability Award.

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For more information, please visit www.grohe.com/sustainability
A full interview with PSG initiator Marcella Hansch can be found in GROHE's new BEYOND WATER magazine on page 82.

1 DHU 2019, https://www.duh.de/mehrweg-klimaschutz0/einweg-plastikflaschen/
2 Li et al., (2016): Plastic waste in the marine environment: A review of sources, occurrences and effects. Science of the Total Environment. Doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.084