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Clif Bar Inc. Expands Fight Against Global Warming
Clif Bar Inc. Expands Fight Against Global Warming
Published 04-13-04
Submitted by Clif Bar Inc.
Clif Bar Inc. expects to collect thousands of signatures this year as part of the Undoit.org campaign to collect 1 million signatures on a petition urging the U.S. government to take decisive action on global warming. The petition calls on Congress to pass the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, which would establish a cap on greenhouse gas emissions--the primary cause of global warming.
Clif Bar Inc. is acquiring petition signatures, registering voters and distributing information about global warming at sporting events and "green" festivals nationwide, through street marketing teams in select cities, online at clifbar.com and via the first climate-neutral mobile marketing tour, which visits the East Coast this summer.
"Global warming is a huge world issue that can seem paralyzing," said Gary Erickson, owner and CEO of Clif Bar Inc. and Global Green USA award recipient for Corporate Environmental Leadership. "We want to take action as a company and educate people about the simple ways every one of us can contribute to solving the global warming crisis."
The mobile marketing tour will feature a bus retrofitted to run entirely on bio-diesel, a clean-burning alternative fuel made from renewable resources. The bus will travel from Tampa, Fla., to Boston throughout the summer, educating thousands of consumers about the benefits of bio-diesel fuel and the role traditional vehicles play in global warming by burning fossil fuels. To offset the environmental impact of other aspects of the climate-neutral tour--shipping, airfare and the like--Clif Bar Inc. will purchase renewable energy credits to support construction of a wind farm.
To "climate neutralize" its own business practices, Clif Bar Inc. is expanding an innovative program begun in 2003 to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) production--the leading contributor to global warming. Last year Clif Bar Inc. offset the CO2 generated by its offices, bakeries and business travel, purchasing renewable energy credits to help build the first large-scale, Native American-owned wind farm. This year, the company is helping the wind farm add another turbine by purchasing additional energy credits to offset the CO2 produced through the transport of its products from bakeries to a distribution center.
All told, Clif Bar Inc. is purchasing enough energy credits in 2004 to offset 5.5 million tons of CO2 --the equivalent of removing 344 SUVs off the road for a year.
The company also is launching the Clif Bar Clean Commute program to offset the global warming pollution generated by its employee commutes to and from work. In partnership with the American Forests Wildfire ReLeaf campaign, Clif Bar Inc. is planting 1,000 trees in fire-ravaged portions of Southern California. The newly planted trees will absorb and store CO2 as they grow.
Undoit.org is a campaign of Environmental Defense, a leading national non-profit organization representing more than 400,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has linked science, economics and law to create innovative, equitable and cost-effective solutions to society's most urgent environmental problems.
Based in Berkeley, Calif., Clif Bar Inc. is committed to sustainability from the field to the final product. The company's products include CLIF® BAR, the energy bar providing nutrition for sustained energy; LUNA®, The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women®; LUNA® GLOWTM, the snack bar choice for women leading a low-carb lifestyle; MOJO Bar®, the first natural snack bar with popular salty snack flavors; CLIF® Builder's, the Entirely Natural Protein Bar; and CLIF SHOT®, The Natural Energy Gel® for endurance activities.
