o9 helps to make the planet a better place in a global cleaning project

During the month of September, o9 launched a global challenge to clean the planet. Combining the power of AI technology and our o9 community, we managed to collect, tag, and dispose of 29.000 pieces of litter in 17 different countries.

This initiative was part of the Global Week to Act for UN SDGs that took place in September and reached a record-breaking 100 million+ actions and mobilized 1,280 organizations and millions of activists in 191 countries. Read more about the o9 Cleans contribution as part of the Global Week to Act for SDGs here.

The o9 Cleans initiative also supported the World Cleanup Day 2021. This event helps raise awareness among our employees and other stakeholders about the importance of cooperation and collaboration when it comes to tackling global environmental issues such as waste management.

For this challenge, we partnered with Litterati, an app that allows users to measure and monitor the objects, materials, and packaging littering their streets. The LitterAI tool then builds a litter database to inform policy, influence packaging, and inspire personal responsibility. 

Top categories collected:

• Drinks
• Food
• Smoking

Top objects collected:

• Wrapper
• Cigarette butt
• Label

Top materials collected:

• Plastic
• Paper
• Aluminium

We also used the Litterati app to run a regional competition, awarding the o9 region that achieved the highest number of pieces of litter collected with the o9 Cleans 2021 Trophy.

Here is how Simon Joiner, one of the top contributors, describes his experience during the o9 Cleans initiative:

“One of the reasons why I'm so pleased to be an o9er is the company’s commitment to doing the right thing for our planet. I found the Litterati app to be like a mobile game with images, categories, maps, and leaderboards; it’s fun to use! Picking up litter quickly became rather addictive but this is no game. I connected closer to my surroundings and better understood the magnitude of the abuse we are doing with our careless lifestyles. What was clear from the o9 cleans initiative was that what really matters is our commitment to change. Download Litterati onto your mobile and create a team. Get out and about, clean your environment, and make a difference!”

It's always inspiring to see our o9ers challenging themselves to help the planet and we want to thank everyone for always stepping up and responding to initiatives that have a positive impact on our communities and environment.

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all contributors. We are already looking forward to our next o9 social impact global challenge!

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