For more than 25 years, we have been striving for a world in which we not only clean polluted water again but also keep clean water clean.
That is why we have become a ‘mileage partner’ of the ‘DANUBE 2850’ project and are sponsoring 100 kilometres of the Danube.
The mission: 2,850 kilometres for Europe’s water
In summer 2026, extreme swimmer Dr. Joseph Heß will swim the entire Danube – 2,850 kilometres through ten countries in around 60 days. What sounds like an exceptional sporting feat is in truth a scientific expedition: more than 250 water samples will be taken, analysed for microplastics and published on the Global Map of Microplastics.
This closes a gap that has existed for years: the Danube – a direct drinking-water source for around 20 million people – had never before been fully mapped for microplastics. The results feed directly into EU briefings and create the scientific basis that policymakers need to act.
A sign across borders
The fact that we are taking on the sponsorship, together with our German colleagues, of a section of the Danube, underlines the European spirit of the project: water knows no national borders, and water protection must not either. From its source to its mouth at the Black Sea, the Danube belongs to all the people who live along it and from it.
You can find all the information about the non-profit organisation Wasser 3.0 and the ‘Danube 2850’ initiative here:
Danube 2850-Microplastic Mapping