• Kia Global PR Group wins Gold award in Environmental category at PR Awards Asia-Pacific 2025 for media communications campaign highlighting the brand’s partnership with The Ocean Cleanup
• Global PR campaign with The Ocean Cleanup raises awareness around scale of impact of plastic on world's oceans
• Authentic and compelling PR activities generated total combined reach of 3.3 billion across digital, social and print channels

Kia Corporation has been awarded Gold in the Environmental category at the PR Awards Asia-Pacific 2025 for its innovative media communications campaign highlighting the aims and achievements of the brand’s partnership with The Ocean Cleanup.

This recognition underscores Kia’s impactful approach to telling the story of its focus on sustainability and the outcomes of its partnership with The Ocean Cleanup – a non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic waste.

Hyundai Motor Group Vice President, Head of Global PR, Andrew Roberts, said, “Kia plays a key role in The Ocean Cleanup’s mission to develop a circular resource system for ocean plastic, and I am delighted that our PR efforts to share this sustainability story have been recognized. Kia’s dedication to this inspirational project drives us to communicate this vital work to a global audience, raising awareness and delivering a positive impact. Winning Gold at the prestigious PR Awards Asia-Pacific is testament to the creativity and commitment of Kia’s Global PR group, and the collective efforts of our leadership and colleagues across the company.”

Achieving Gold in the Environmental category at the PR Awards Asia-Pacific 2025 confirms how Kia effectively leveraged authentic PR activities and communication, developing compelling narratives and distributing creative materials to a global audience, highlighting Kia’s initiatives and the goals and successes of its partnership with The Ocean Cleanup.

Kia’s integrated multi-platform media communications fully supported the objectives of the brand’s partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, which began in 2022.

Charles Ryu, Senior Vice President and Head of Kia Global Brand & CX Division, said, “It is a great honor to receive this recognition at the PR Awards Asia-Pacific 2025, further highlighting Kia’s achievements through our partnership with The Ocean Cleanup. The award illustrates Kia’s innovative approach to its sustainability-focused initiatives, as well as our commitment to conveying a vision that inspires others to join the movement and make a positive impact on our planet.”

What innovative PR measures did Kia undertake to promote the campaign?

• Creation of informative, educational media assets – including a film – that highlight Kia’s sustainability focus and explain how the partnership with The Ocean Cleanup led to the development of the first car accessory partly composed of recycled ocean plastic.
• Continued strategic distribution of news releases providing data on how The Ocean Cleanup completed more than 100 plastic extraction missions, removing over one million pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
• Secondary messaging highlighting Kia’s strategic commitment to a more sustainable future, explaining how the brand has integrated other recycled plastics and eco-friendly materials into its latest models.

What key metrics did Kia’s global PR campaign achieve?

• Total combined reach of 3.3 billion (2024 plus YTD 2025) across digital, social and print channels.
• A 94 percent increase in mentions (2024 vs 2023).
• Coverage recorded 98.6 percent positive or neutral tonality with comprehensive key message cut through.

What is the nature of Kia’s partnership with The Ocean Cleanup?

Since the partnership's launch in 2022, Kia has played an integral role in The Ocean Cleanup’s operations, including global amplification of the project’s aims and achievements through compelling media communication. Support also included contributing financial resources, technical expertise, and logistical, mobility, and research assistance aligned with the project’s goal of accelerating the removal of plastic waste from the ocean.

The collaboration has also led to tangible progress in developing a circular resource system for ocean plastic through innovations in recycling and its application in Kia vehicle accessories.

Kia’s ongoing partnership with The Ocean Cleanup aligns with the brand’s broader sustainability goals. Beyond cleanup operations, Kia and The Ocean Cleanup will continue to drive innovation in ocean plastic recycling, supporting research and development aimed at integrating recycled materials into future mobility solutions.

What are the PR Awards Asia-Pacific?

The PR Awards Asia-Pacific is an annual awards program that recognizes and celebrates outstanding public relations and communications campaigns, individuals, and companies within the Asia-Pacific region.

The awards are open to PR consultancies, brands, solo practitioners, and in-house departments from all markets in the Asia-Pacific region and are judged by a panel of leading PR practitioners.