Clif Bar Tour Decries Global Warming
Energy-bar maker Clif Bar & Co. is worried about global warming, and it’s using a promotional tour to rally consumers to do something about it.
The company recruited World Champion freeskier Alison Gannett to tag along for part of its 2007 Clif Bar Save Our Snow Winter Roadtrip. Gannett will travel with the tour to ski resorts and schools in an RV-powered by vegetable oil to tell skiers and students how they can help reduce global warming. Among the tips: Recycle; use renewable energy, like wind; carpool or drive a hybrid car and eat local foods.
“We hope the Clif Bar SOS Winter Roadtrip will inspire thousands of skiers and riders to take small acts that collectively will help save our snow,” said Ricardo Balazs, Clif Bar’s sports marketing manager, in a statement.
Clif Bar will distribute samples of its flagship energy bars, as well as Clif Shot Bloks and Z-Bars. Gannett shows photos and film clips of her ski trips worldwide to illustrate how snowy regions worldwide have changed. Clif Bar handles the tour in-house.
The tour, which began yesterday, runs through Feb. 25 as part of Clif Bar’s broader efforts to cut global warming. Last month, the company launched an employee incentive program that gives $5,000 to staffers who buy a hybrid-fuel car. The “Cool Commute” program also lets employees earn points when they carpool, walk, bike or take public transportation to work. Staffers can redeem points for public transit vouchers or gift cards from local “green” retailers including Whole Foods Market and Peet’s Coffee. Staffers also can pool their points for donations to environmental groups such as American Forests, Clean Air-Cool Planet and NativeEnergy.
For consumers, the company sells stickers with its motto, “Start Global Cooling,” for $2, which is then donated to a wind farm run by Native Americans in South Dakota. The company also collaborates with sporting and music events including the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon to cut carbon dioxide emissions at the events.
Global warming could shutter ski resorts in the East by 2030, and in the West by 2050, if warming continues at its current rate, according to a recent United Nations report quoted by Berkeley, CA-based Clif Bar.
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