General Motors And Earth Force Receive 2001 "Award of Achievement" For Environmental Program
FOR RELEASE: September 19, 2001General Motors And Earth Force Receive 2001 "Award of Achievement" For Environmental Program
General Motors and its partner, Earth Force, a national organization that engages youth to discover lasting solutions to environmental problems, were recently recognized by a leading environmental group for their efforts to protect water resources.
The Natural Resources Council of America (NRCA) presented the 2001 Award of Achievement to GM and Earth Force for their environmental work through the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN) program. The NRCA is a national association for the leaders of America's environmental groups, and its members include some of the oldest and largest national conservation and recreation organizations.
"For more than 10 years, General Motors has been a supporter of GREEN, actively involving employees in watershed protection within their communities," said Dennis R. Minano, GM's Vice President of Environment & Energy and Chief Environmental Officer. "We are honored to receive an award for our efforts with Earth Force and hope, as a result, that awareness of the need for corporate stewardship in this area will be heightened."
"Partnerships like the one between Earth Force and General Motors are ingenious," said Andrea Yank, Executive Director for the NRCA. "Clearly a growing trend, nonprofit-corporate partnerships are models for achieving future environmental progress in a complex society where the public, private and nonprofit sectors must work together to produce good public policy."
Through the partnership, an estimated 5,000 students have actively assessed the health of their watershed and taken action when necessary. GM facilities work with local watershed organizations and schools to engage youth in monitoring and protecting their local rivers and streams. GM sites provide funding and employees act as mentors and environmental experts that students can turn to.
In 2000, the GM-Earth Force partnership succeeded in strengthening 21 existing programs and establishing 10 new active watershed protection programs at local GM facilities. Earth Force has plans to establish 10 more facilities by the end of 2001.
"This partnership excites youth about science and civics through hands-on learning, works to improve our watersheds and enables GM employees to give back to their community," said Tom Martin, Earth Force's President. "It's a win-win situation all around."
With the help of community-based partners, the GM-Earth Force partnership engaged thousands of young people in 16 communities within Michigan, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio and Canada. With GM's help, Earth Force also built a variety of resources, including an action guide than can help the efforts of any student water monitoring in the nation.
General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2000, GM earned $5 billion on sales of $183.3 billion. It employs about 372,000 people globally.
GM also operates one of the largest and most successful financial services companies, GMAC, which offers automotive, mortgage and business financing and insurance services to customers worldwide. For more information on GM's progress in the areas of products, plants and partnerships, please visit www.gmability.com.
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