As racing season shifts gears into April, a month nationally associated with environmental awareness, NASCAR is launching two programs further bolstering the sustainability efforts the sanctioning body, industry, and a wide range of partners have in place to help reduce the sport’s carbon footprint.
Headlining the month-long NASCAR Green® initiative leading up to Earth Day and Arbor Day are two signature programs designed to help drive more sustainable behavior within the sport. NASCAR Race to Green™ will galvanize teams, tracks, drivers, Official NASCAR Partners, and most importantly fans, around the theme of protecting and preserving our environment. The NASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program™ Delivered by UPS will plant trees to absorb carbon emissions equivalent to all of the racing in NASCAR’s three national series for the entire season. One mature tree over the course of its lifetime absorbs about one metric ton of carbon dioxide, the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted by a NASCAR Sprint Cup car driving 500 miles.
NASCAR Race to Green includes a call-to-action for fans and the industry to pledge trees that will be planted across the country as well as in a number of areas recently devastated by natural disasters. NASCAR fans can visitwww.NASCAR.com/green to donate trees– for $1 per tree for a 2-3 foot sapling – to be planted in those stricken areas.
As presenting sponsor of theNASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program, UPS has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to commit to plant more than 8,000 trees – including 90 in each market where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races for the remainder of 2013. Additionally, UPS will serve as presenting sponsor for the NASCAR Green Summit later this fall.
“Our NASCAR Green activities this month comprise our most ambitious and collective effort to date in reducing our sport’s impact on the environment,” said Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO. ”With the help of our industry, some best-in-class partners, and most importantly our fans, NASCAR has become the leader in sustainability across all sports and has had a substantive impact in creating awareness and positively changing consumer behaviors around Green.”
“UPS shares NASCAR’s commitment to operating sustainably and doing our part to protect and preserve the environment,” said Ron Rogowski, UPS vice president, global brand and sponsorships. “Last year, we launched an initiative to plant one million trees worldwide that aims to reduce and offset carbon emissions. At UPS, we are always looking for ways to apply our sustainability experience to everything that we do, including operating more than 2,600 alternative fuel vehicles.”
Since its inception in 2008, NASCAR Green has become one of the most powerful environmental awareness platforms in the country. NASCAR has the largest recycling and tree planting programs in sports; has put nearly four million miles on Sunoco Green E15, a biofuel blended with 15 percent American-made ethanol from American-grown corn; and has the largest renewable energy stadium projects in the world.
Importantly, the efforts that have led to these achievements align with NASCAR fan values. According to a 2012 study conducted by Toluna, NASCAR fans are twice as likely as non-fans to view their household as very green – always looking for new ways to positively impact the environment. The same research shows that NASCAR fans are multiple times more likely than non-fans to closely associate NASCAR with being environmentally responsible – not surprising since NASCAR fans are more likely to see the various initiatives the sport has in place to positively impact the environment.
NASCAR Race to Green will highlight accomplishments, events and activities taking place within the sport in three key areas: waste, emission and power. While NASCAR Green initiatives have and will continue to span the entire year, including the complete roll out of theNASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program Delivered by UPS, the following activities will take place during the month of April:
- · On April 5, Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR and UPS will host an event officially kicking off theNASCAR Green Clean Air Tree Planting Program during the race weekend.
- · Kansas Speedway will prominently feature the NASCAR Green logo on the infield grass and the backstretch wall and start/finish line will be painted green. A Toyota Camry Hybrid will serve as pace car for the race.
- · Pocono Raceway in partnership with NASCAR will be donating 8,000 tree seedlings under the supervision and monitoring of the National Parks Service. The donation is a continuation of a major reforestation effort that will eventually result in 150,000 new trees at the Flight 93 National Memorial, the nation’s permanent memorial to the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93, and all of those lost on September 11, 2001. The UPS Foundation will also donate 35,000 trees to this site.
- · NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ teams and drivers will also be doing their part throughout April. A large majority of teams will feature the NASCAR Green logo on the B-post of their race cars. Additionally, NASCAR drivers are expected at a number of industry events throughout the course of the month.
- · NASCAR will also break new television creative on NASCAR on FOX during the network’s broadcast of the STP 500 on April 21 at 1 p.m. ET. A 30-second spot, courtesy of Ogilvy & Mather, will bring the NASCAR Green platform to life. The campaign will also include print and radio. Additionally, a digital vignette will be released, encouraging fans to join the effort by pledging trees.
- · The NASCAR Foundation in partnership with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) will host a park renovation project in the Kansas City area on Earth Day highlighting the first of the UPS tree planting events. Participants will include SCA representatives, local high school students, UPS volunteers, Sprint employees and representatives from the NASCAR community.
NASCAR PR
