TEAM CLIF BAR MIDWEST RENEWS CLIMATE-NEUTRAL INITIATIVES

Squad's environmental focus earns mention in Sports Illustrated

 

 

For Immediate Release

March 14, 2007

Contact: Eric Goodwin - Managing Director, Team Clif Bar Midwest

ericg@...

 

 

Chicago , Ill. – Team Clif Bar Midwest, a second-year cycling program based in Chicago, Ill., is proud to announce the renewal of its climate-neutral initiatives for the 2007 season.   Carrying over a successful endeavor from its inaugural season, Team Clif Bar Midwest will join title sponsor Cilf Bar & Co. in supporting Native Energy, a privately-held Native American company focused on the production of renewable, sustainable energy through wind farms. Team Clif Bar Midwest is also sponsored by Whole Foods Market, which is recognized as one of the nation's most dedicated proponents of wind energy.

 

All of the miles driven or flown by members of Team Clif Bar Midwest for cycling-related activities will be tracked over the course of the 2007 season.   At the conclusion of the racing calendar, for every 300 miles recorded, the program will purchase a two-dollar 'Cool Tag' that benefits Native Energy's WindBuilders program.  The Wind Builders endeavor assists Native American communities in constructing and maintaining wind farms that deliver energy without releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  Each Cool Tag represents a savings of 300-pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the approximate amount generated by traveling 300 miles in the average car.   Additionally, Clif Bar & Co. – in an effort to "Start Global Cooling" - will match all of the Cool Tags purchased by Team Clif Bar Midwest, effectively doubling the effort's positive impact. Earlier this year, Clif Bar & Co. partnered with Native Energy for California's Sea Otter Classic, reducing the environmental impact of one of the nation's largest cycling events.

 

"I think the success that Team Clif Bar Midwest had with its Climate-Neutral campaign during its very first year of existence shows that, with a little effort, even a small group of individuals can band together and spread a positive message," said Clif Bar & Co. Midwest Field Marketing Manager Joel Feinberg. "The Cool Tag purchases the team made were a key component of the campaign, but getting the word out was just as critical.  The real impact will come when other programs from the area pick up on how easy it is to take part in something like this."

 

Following the 2006 season, Team Clif Bar Midwest offset approximately 66,000 miles worth of carbon dioxide. The team's efforts to have a minimal environmental footprint were recently mentioned in an article titled "Going, Going, Green" by Alexander Wolff, which appeared in the March 8, 2007 edition of Sports Illustrated magazine.  In addition to the Cool Tag program, Team Clif Bar Midwest will again ally with Chicago's Friends of the Parks to help clean up local parks and playing fields in urban Chicago this year. New for 2007, the team will travel to many of its events in a new bio-diesel-powered Dodge truck, purchased by Clif Bar & Co. to support the company's regional marketing operations.  

 

To learn more about Clif Bar & Co., its products and the campaign to "Start Global Cooling," visit www.clifbar.com. Additional facts about Native Energy and its mission can be obtained at www.nativeenergy.com . For more information regarding Team Clif Bar Midwest, visit www.teamclifbarmidwest.com .