They Got in the Boat for the Future: Diageo's Awareness-Raising Program from Tisza Lake Volunteering to Cross-Border Actions

Diageo didn’t stay on the shore this year either: in 2025, the company once again took part in the Tisza Lake river-cleaning action, with its employees - encouraged by kayaker Tamara Csipes - getting into boats to collect the waste that endangers the living space of future generations. All this is part of the company’s waste reduction initiative called CALL-Action, which aims to inspire active environmental protection. The message is clear: social responsibility is not about posters, but about sweaty work – on water, in floodplains, and across borders.              

As one of the world’s leading alcoholic beverage producers and distributors, Diageo and its partners have implemented real social intervention in recent years: they launched eco-buses in Zakarpattia, developed waste yards, and saved the Tisza from 2,000 tonnes of plastic in just three years. The latest stop: Lake Tisza, where company employees collected waste from the water with their hands. Not because they had to, but because this is what it means to truly be responsible.

Results Measured in Tonnes

During the 2025 Tisza Lake river-cleaning action, Diageo’s 100-person team collected a total of 113 bags of waste from the lake over two days. The bags weighed an average of 5.5-6 kilograms, meaning the total amount gathered exceeded 600 kilograms. The company’s volunteers actively contributed to the protection of Hungarian waters, turning their team-building into a socially beneficial activity. Tamara Csipes, double Olympic, nine-time World, and ten-time European Champion kayaker also joined the event to encourage employees and to underline the importance of protecting our waters with her personal presence: “It might not be within everyone’s comfort zone to pick up trash, but sometimes we need to step out of this little bubble we live in.”    

„We are proud that our colleagues have participated in volunteer work for years, as sustainability for us finds its true meaning through actions. We believe in real change - while support is important, what matters even more is when we act ourselves. Putting on rubber boots and gloves and getting out on the water gives us a truly shocking picture of how severe river pollution is. While sorting the bags, we found not only plastic bottles, but also dangerous waste, pieces of clothing, and countless everyday items - these not only pollute the environment but also remind us of our own responsibility. These are images we won’t forget; they leave a deep impression and inspire action.” – added Gergely Ábrahám, Diageo’s Corporate Relations Director for Eastern Europe. He emphasized that protecting natural waters in the region cannot be solved within borders, it requires shared thinking, infrastructure, and real cooperation. A key element of Diageo’s social responsibility is sustainability and the protection of natural waters. The waste collection at Lake Tisza is closely tied to the CALL-Action project launched in February 2022, which was implemented with the cooperation of organizations from Zakarpattia, coordinated by PET Kupa, and financially supported by Diageo Hungary.

Mindset Shifts Start Where Waste is Born

The goal of the Call–Action waste reduction program is to bring meaningful change to plastic-polluted catchment areas in Ukraine and Hungary. The actions along the Tisza, Mureș, and Latorica rivers focus not only on collecting waste, but also on its proper processing - recognizing that pollution is a cross-border issue. The project exemplarily combines civil organizational knowledge, local community engagement, and the financial and strategic support of multinational players. Thanks to the joint efforts of four partner organizations - waste yards in Uzhhorod and Berehove, Zelenyi Varosh Association, and Papilio Nature and Environmental Protection Association - the waste management infrastructure has expanded, new tools like eco-buses for residential waste collection have been deployed, and over thirty awareness-raising events have been held for the public. At the peak of the river-cleaning, Papilio’s volunteers collected 1.5 tonnes of mainly PET bottle waste from one of the most heavily polluted sections of the Latorica, known as the “plastic forest.”

The CALL-Action project started in 2022, at the onset of the Russia–Ukraine war, and faced serious challenges from the beginning: power outages, conscriptions, air raid sirens, and the everyday reality of war made the work difficult. Despite this, the teams persevered - reflecting exemplary commitment from the communities involved. Thus, CALL-Action impacts not only the environment but also builds communities: both locally and within the company. Key results in numbers:            

• Development of infrastructure in 2 waste yards in Zakarpattia
• More than 2,000 tonnes of waste diverted from the river 
• 30 residental selective waste collection containers placed in Uzhorod and surrounding villages 
• 4 km of Latorica riverbank mapped and 1.5 tonnes of waste removed from the floodplain
• Over 2,500 locals, mainly children, took part in 30 events

„Waste collection, river cleaning, and mindset-shaping: these are our main pillars, but over the years it has become clear that this is about more. If a company or a school tries this work once, from that point on they see the river, plastic, and their own responsibility differently” – said Gergely Hankó, Vice President of the PET Kupa Association.

New Goals

Despite the challenges, the project has exceeded its targets: instead of the planned 690 tonnes of river waste, more than double was diverted. With Diageo’s support, a new one-and-a-half-year phase is now beginning, aiming to collect an additional 1,000 tonnes of waste, involve 10 new schools, and monitor 10 more kilometres of river.