ALPHARETTA, Ga. (Aug. 3, 2010) — Life is full of choices when it comes to protecting the environment. You can take small steps from the comfort of your own home or office (always a good thing!), or you can go “hard core” and experience conservation in the heart of some of nature’s most fragile environments. In celebration of its ENVIRONMENT® Papers line, Neenah Paper has launched an “Eco-Trip for Two” sweepstakes in which one lucky winner will have the opportunity to help make the world a better place through an environmental adventure to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. The Neenah “Eco-Trip for Two” sweepstakes runs from July 30 to September 30, 2010. During that time, designers, printers, and anyone with a passion for the environment can enter to win by registering at neenahpaper.com/environmentcontest. One winner will be randomly selected from all entries to receive the all-expenses-paid* grand prize trip for two which includes airfare, ground transportation, six days and five nights of accommodations at an ecologically friendly resort as well as a guided day-trip to the Neenah Reforestation Project, a project in partnership with the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and Friends of the Osa. Neenah will offset the carbon footprint for the winner’s entire trip with carbon credits.
In addition to the grand prize, Neenah will award three $100 gift certificates (to REI, Keen Footwear and Patagonia) as secondary prizes. To be eligible for the gift certificates, participants can visit neenahpaper.com/environmentcontest and answer five easy questions designed to test their environmental awareness. It doesn’t matter whether they’re an environmental expert or need a “green” primer, all completed quizzes qualify to win.
Says Kristen Hogan, senior brand manager for Neenah Paper, “While the eco-trip will give two people the chance of a lifetime to experience the reforestation project first-hand, the broader message is that even a simple act like purchasing environmentally conscious paper can set off a chain of events that ultimately leads to the protection and conservation of the world’s natural resources.”
Inspired by a Partnership to Preserve
The trip to the Osa Peninsula was inspired by Neenah’s support of the region. In 2009, Neenah Paper, with mills, finishing and distribution in Wisconsin, partnered with the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and Friends of the Osa to help reforest this conservation property in Costa Rica. One of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, the Osa Peninsula is widely acknowledged as a global conservation priority by organizations such as the Nature Conservancy and Conservation International. In addition, this forest provides a critical habitat for 54 species of Wisconsin’s migratory birds that winter in the Osa Peninsula. Eighteen of those species are conservation priorities, three are threatened and one is endangered.
With Neenah’s support and contributions, the reforestation project is creating a new habitat for endangered wildlife, protecting and restoring viable plant and animal habitats, removing carbon from the atmosphere, and restoring land degraded by deforestation.
“The Osa Peninsula is important for Wisconsin’s birds, but it’s also a global conservation priority because, among other things, it is home to the largest remaining mangrove forest in Central America,” notes Adrian Forsyth, acclaimed conservationist and president and founder of Friends of the Osa. “We’re grateful for the support of Neenah Paper and the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin because north-south partnerships such as these help make long-term conservation possible.”
In addition to its partnership on the Osa Peninsula Reforestation project, Neenah - through its Neenah Green platform - makes its own “hard core” choices in an effort to preserve the planet’s natural resources. For example:
• All scrap and waste paper generated in the making of Neenah paper brands is recycled or used in a waste-to-energy program;
• Neenah’s Appleton, Wis., paper mill generates up to 33 percent of its electrical needs from on-site, non-polluting hydro power;
• Neenah buys wind-generated electricity for all of its fine paper mills;
• And, ENVIRONMENT® Paper is made with 100 percent renewable electricity.
“Our goal is to make hard choices that err on the side of the environment, even when it might cost a little more or we have to rethink the way we do things,” explains Hogan. “While the Eco-Trip for Two sweepstakes will be an enjoyable way for people to think a little more about the environment, we want people to turn that thought into action and join us in making a difference.”
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