Robert Swan

Swan is also the founder of 2041, a company which is dedicated to the preservation of the Antarctic[2] and the author with Gil Reavill of Antarctica 2041: My Quest to Save the Earth's Last Wilderness.

Upon arrival on the frozen continent, Swan and his team spent the Antarctic winter at the Jack Hayward Base with colleagues John Tolson and Michael Stroud.

When the winter had passed, Swan, Roger Mear and Gareth Wood set out to walk 900 miles (1,400 km) to the South Pole.

They arrived at the South Pole on 11 January 1986, after 70 days without the aid of any radio communications or back-up support and having hauled 350 lb (160 kg) sledges.

Once at the pole, they received the bad news that their ship, Southern Quest, had been crushed by pack ice and had sunk, just minutes before they arrived.

While welcomed by the scientists at the Pole, There was much criticism of the adventure from the US military authorities in charge of Antactica stations, who claimed they needed to rescue and fly some of the party back out to New Zealand.

However, Swan returned in 1987 with a ship to collect the rest of the team at Jack Hayward Base and to remove all traces of his expedition, i.e., rubbish and remaining stores.

The Icewalk expedition team consisted of: Misha Malakhov from Russia, Rupert Summerson of the UK, Graeme Joy of Australia, Arved Fuchs of Germany, Hiroshi Onishi from Japan, Angus Cockney of the Inuit, and Daryl E. Roberts of the US.

[7] In 1992, Swan was invited by the United Nations to be a keynote speaker to the first Earth Summit for sustainable development, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The rubbish at the Russian base of Bellingshausen, King George Island, was cleared and the native penguins reclaimed their beach for the first time in 47 years.

The protocol, signed by nearly every nation, provides additional protection for the Antarctic Treaty and designates the continent as "a Natural Reserve Land for Science and Peace".

[7] Powered entirely on renewable energy, Swan and a small team lived and sent broadcasts from the E-base[clarification needed] via the internet for two weeks.

[16] On the 2018 International Antarctic Expedition Team Zayed (Mariam Al Qassimi, Rashed Al Zaabi and Winston Cowie) representing the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi and Jane Goodall lit up the Antarctic sky with a solar light show, writing a message in solar lights to the world on climate change and plastic.

Working directly with businesses, communities, and students to promote sustainable development, Swan and his son Barney continue to manage expeditions as a platform to accelerate impact.