Teens Produce 'Environmentally Hip' Video; Launch National Education Program
MILWAUKEE, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of teenagers from Milwaukee's John Marshall High School, working with a consumer products company, retail store and environmental education group, have produced a video that encourages young people to practice an environmental strategy that means using less to do more. That strategy is called eco-efficiency.
The high school video-production crew, Eagle Wing Productions, and its partners S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., The Target Stores and Keep America Beautiful, launched the program on eco-efficiency at a national premiere in Milwaukee. SC Johnson will distribute it to every high school in America in January 1999.
The program, which consists of an "environmentally hip," information-packed video produced by teens for teens called "Get A Grip!," calls for consuming fewer resources and using resources more efficiently to reduce waste, risk and cost along a product's life cycle. The video was written, produced, shot, performed and edited by the students and is accompanied by lesson plans. The plans were written by Keep America Beautiful for teachers to use in the classroom to illustrate how students can make eco-efficient choices every day.
Target Stores opened its doors for the students to spend hours lighting and shooting the program up and down store aisles.
"Teenagers care about the environment," said Marquis Graves, one of the students. "When we started this project and found out that every eight hours 190 million tons of trash is produced, it blew us away. We wanted to find a way to let teenagers know that we can be part of the solution."
"Get A Grip!" offers teens simple tips for making eco-efficient choices, such as:
-- Is the product durable or reusable?
-- Does the product have less packaging?
-- Is the product in a concentrate form?
-- Does the product contain fewer chemicals?
-- Is the package recyclable or made from recycled materials?
-- Is the product refillable?
"In the business sector, when we make products that have less impact on the environment such as refills, reduced packaging and concentrates, we are doing our part towards eco-efficiency," said Tom Benson, environmental actions manager at SC Johnson. "And, when we do our part, we save money. Since 1992, SC Johnson has eliminated more than 420 million pounds of waste from our products and processes and, as a result, has saved $125 million."
"Businesses have to take leadership roles in eco-efficiency and consumers have to help them by making eco-efficient choices," said Ray Empson, president of Keep America Beautiful. "'Get A Grip!' is an excellent tool for teaching one of the largest consumer groups in America -- teenagers -- how to make eco-efficiency a way of life."
Eagle Wing Productions is designated as a School to Work program and finds business partners to allow the students to work on real business challenges. The class has made national waves with its work, serving as the first CNN Student Bureau, a pilot for Wisconsin's statewide high school telecommunications curriculum and a national model for the U.S. Department of Education's and Labor's School To Work Advisory Council.
"The students learned a great deal about business in the real world making 'Get A Grip!' -- like how to work within budget against a deadline and shift gears mid-stream if the original plan isn't working quite right," said John Holmes, teacher, Eagle Wing Productions. "They also learned a lot about themselves and about how effective communication and technology can expand their capabilities."
Founded in 1953, Keep America Beautiful, Inc. is a national, non-profit public educational organization with a network of 480 local, statewide and international affiliates. These affiliates work through partnerships and strategic alliances with citizen groups, businesses and governments to educate the public about the harmful effects of litter and the benefits of solid waste reduction and materials reuse and recycling.
SC Johnson is a family-owned and managed business dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Headquartered in Racine, Wis., the 112-year-old company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for insect control, personal care and home storage. In the past four years alone, SC Johnson has received more than 30 environmental stewardship awards from around the world, including the prestigious World Environment Center Gold Medal for International Corporate Environmental Achievement.
SOURCE SC Johnson & Son, Inc.
CO: SC Johnson & Son, Inc.; Target Stores; Keep America Beautiful, Inc.
ST: Wisconsin
IN: ENV EDU
SU:
11/19/98 05:06 EST prnewswire.com
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