A laptop, a washing-machine tub, a Darth Vader figure… These are objects which owners decided one day to through into the ocean, in order to get rid of them. Now that they have been rescued from the bottom of the sea, EDP shows a selection of 13 of them in Madrid’s Gran Vía, in the world’s first pop up store, that collects these “objects nobody wants”, aiming to raise awareness in society about the need to take action to protect the planet and fight against climate change.

Each object exposed has an associated value, like a price tag. However, these value does not indicate the cost of the object for the client, but its cost for the planet, that is, the number of years that it takes it to decompose on Earth: for example, both the laptop and the washing-machine tub would take more than 500 years to decompose.

The pieces of the exposition – integrated in this project that takes the name ‘Backwash’ (associated to the tides’ movements) – can also be visited online (https://www.edp.com/es/acerca-de-nosotros/backwash), and the associated values can be turned into donatives with solidary goals. The total amount collected will be destined to the NGO The Ocean Clean Up, an organization that develops and uses advanced technologies to eliminate plastic wastes from the oceans all over the world. Each year, 12 million tons of plastics, the equivalent to more than 100 000 blue whales, are poured into the oceans, home to around 80 % of the life on Earth.

The pop-up store, that may be visited for free in Gran Vía 66 until June 30, is made up entirely of objects rescued from the sea bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in Sesimbra (Portugal), after carrying out the biggest subaquatic cleaning in the world: 597 divers in 12 hours, as indicated by the search in the Guinness Records. An action organized by the NGO Oceanum Liberandum, supported by EDP.

The divers that took part in this cleaning recovered three tons of waste, among which there where laptops, shoes, household appliances and all kinds of tools, some of them quite unusual, such as a ‘Darth Vader’ (now called ‘Dirty Vader’) or a ‘Yellow Submarine Truck Ride-On’ toy. These objects are completely recognizable in spite of the passing of time and the signs of having remained under water.

During the inauguration of the pop-up store, Nacho Dean, leader of the organization ‘La España Azul’ (The Blue Spain), in charge of numerous activities related with the care of the oceans, carried out a guided tour, explaining the impact that it has, that these kinds of objects end up in our coastline.

Moreover, during the last weeks, different initiatives related with the protection of the oceans have taken place, together with organizations committed with this aim, that will also be explained to attendants. It is the case of the Libera Project, with which EDP also collaborates this year in a new action of sea cleaning developed in more than 30 localities in Spain, under the motto “Choosing the ocean is choosing the Earth”.

In this same line, last May, EDP has supported the second edition of the subaquatic cleaning event in Sesimbra (Portugal) that once again beat the Guinness Record: 842 divers in 24 hours. In this period, seven tons of waste were collected from the sea bottom

Furthermore, in June 22, EDP organizes in the EDP Theater Gran Vía, together with the pop-up store, the international conference ‘We Choose Earth Tour’, that will count with the presence of renowned speakers such as Amal Clooney, Céline Cousteau or Macaco, among others. There it will be debated how to save the planet and it will be gone into detail about the oceans’ protection. Moreover, the amount collected with the tickets’ sales (https://www.edp.com/en/about-us/we-choose-earth-tour) will be destined to entities that perform in different fields related with the environmental care, the energy transition and the society’s awareness, as ECODES, La España Azul and Ecomar.

Through these initiatives, EDP reinforces its commitment with society and action for climate, in line with the company’s positioning and its claim: ‘We choose Earth’. The oceans are here a main focus in the vision and the strategy of the company – that invests in projects of wind, sea and solar energy in different parts of the world – which shows a clear focus in sustainability of this vital resource to ensure the energy transition. EDP expects thus to contribute to mitigate the impact of climate change in the oceans and raise awareness about the urgency of protecting the sea life.