UK leg delivering Nature’s Baton supported by GAC UK

A carbon emission-free (zero CO2e) relay organised by shipping, logistics and marine service provider GAC UK will set off from Southampton’s Town Quay for Glasgow today (25Oct21), where it will deliver Nature’s Baton to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

The baton is the symbol of the Relay4Nature initiative which champions the ocean and calls on leaders to take urgent action to protect nature. Developed by The Ocean Race in collaboration with UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson, Relay4Nature has three goals. These are to give the ocean a voice on the world stage about the critical issues
affecting the planet; connect different but interconnected issues, including the climate and biodiversity crises, to drive a joined-up approach to tackling them; and to gather messages from ministers, business leaders, royals, sailors and ocean lovers to world leaders, calling for them to radically increase their action to support a healthy and productive ocean.

For the six-day UK leg of Relay4Nature by The Ocean Race, amateur cyclists will take turns to carry Nature’s Baton on the 500-mile journey, ending up at Festival Park (tbc) in Glasgow, on Saturday 30 October.

The riders are employees and suppliers of GAC UK, the company behind marine sports, leisure and event logistics expert GAC Pindar, the Official Logistics Provider for The Ocean Race. They will be supported by Volvo Cars, supplying hybrid electric vehicles as emergency back-up. If a cyclist cannot complete their part of the relay due to injury or illness, it will be finished by a Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid T5 FWD Inscription Pro Automatic, using public recharge points where necessary.

GAC UK says it was inspired by the environmental focus of the previous edition of The Ocean Race for which GAC Pindar provided logistics services to the race for the 2nd consecutive time.