In three days time, Chris Slabbinck (47) and Christophe Van Hoorde (50), directors at ECCO Products, covered 650 km by bike. With their Green needs Blue sponsored ride they collected 4,500 euros for Join for Water in Ghent.
With this sponsored ride Chris and Christophe want to draw attention to the water shortage that is also becoming increasingly tangible in Flanders. The Ghent NGO Join for Water has been active for more than 40 years and gives tens of thousands of people worldwide access to sustainable solutions for drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, or water for agriculture.
Water supply under pressure
"The hardening of Flanders and the salinisation of our water is slowly becoming a problem. And our groundwater reserves, despite some wet summers, are under pressure. So in Flanders, too, water is becoming the problem of the future. With our company, we are looking for solutions. Through our support for Join for Water, we want to bring attention to the global problem," says Christophe Van Hoorde, CEO of ECCO Products.
Together with his fellow board member Chris Slabbinck, he cycled last September from Merelbeke via Reims and Auxerre to Moulins in France where ECCO’s French sales manager lives. "A bet that got out of hand. But we immediately linked an action to it to highlight the climate, water management and ecological solutions", says Christophe. Thanks to sponsors and partners, this eventually yielded 4,500 euros. "We are thinking about an annual initiative for the ecological charity," concludes Christophe.