Wrigley Company Foundation Extends 'Litter Less' Environmental Education Program to 35 Countries

The Wrigley Company Foundation today announced the addition of ten new countries to its international Litter Less education campaign led by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).   This addition brings the number of participating countries to 35 globally and kicks off the third year of a three-year, $3.1 million USD campaign.

The Litter Less campaign aims to help educate and engage children and young people on the issues of litter, and to help encourage them to make positive choices.  The campaign supplements the existing work the Wrigley Company undertakes to encourage responsible disposal of litter.

The 10 new Litter Less campaign countries include:
Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Poland, Puerto Rico, Turkey and Wales.

Other countries with ongoing Litter Less campaigns include Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Slovakia, Uganda, and United States.

FEE is a non-governmental, non-profit organization leading the way in environmental education through several engaging international programs which have been successfully implemented in 68 countries. Thanks to the Foundation’s support, FEE is expanding two significant campaigns in schools through its Eco-Schools and Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) programs.
 
Through the Eco-Schools program, children aged 5-12 years are asked to design and lead their own anti-litter projects, or organize a Litter Less event at their school. Students 11-21 years involved in the YRE program will act as ‘journalists’, investigating and reporting on the problem of litter from the perspective of an environmental reporter.
 
“The Litter Less campaign continues to help raise awareness around issues of litter and helps young people make more positive environmental choices,” said Martin Radvan, President of Wrigley and the Wrigley Company Foundation. “We are excited to see this educational program now expand even further.”
 
Daniel Schaffer, CEO of FEE , added, “The Litter Less campaign has been a very big success with lots of initiatives on reducing litter carried out by students in the 25 countries involved to date. We are very grateful for the support of the Wrigley Company Foundation, and we look forward to making an even larger difference with the enlargement of the project to 35 countries.”

How Litter Less works
 
Litter Less - Campaign for Eco-Schools:
 
Participating schools can choose from one of the following options:

• Organize a Litter Less event, e.g. School or Community clean up day or a Neighborhood Litter Count
• Create a Litter Less product, e.g. a sculpture or collage made of collected litter, an advertising slogan or YouTube anti-litter event
• Design and implement a Litter Less campaign, e.g. ‘Package-free” lunch program, Local food or fruit and vegetable day, or slogan campaign

Litter Less Campaign - ‘Young Reporters for the Environment’:
 
The YRE student groups will investigate a local litter issue, for example the affect on local wildlife or human health, the packaging most often discarded by people, etc.  They will then produce journalistic production in the form of articles, photo reports, and/or video clips, which must include suggestions for solutions on minimizing litter.  
 
A National YRE Jury in each country will select the best articles within the Litter Less campaign – first, second, third place.  The recipients will be announced in national press releases and receive a relevant sustainable award, e.g. a solar charger or camera, to support further activity.
 
From there, up to nine students from each country can be submitted to the International YRE Litter Less competition.  Winners of the International Competition will then participate in an international three-to-four day YRE workshop to investigate a selected international litter issue and create a journalistic production.

About the Wrigley Company Foundation

The mission of the Wrigley Company Foundation is to help improve the health of people and our planet through sustainable initiatives focused in oral health and environmental stewardship as well as local needs that ensure a healthy community. Since its founding in 1987, the Wrigley Company Foundation has donated more than $60 million to charitable organizations improving lives around the world.
 
About Wrigley

Wrigley is a recognized leader in confections with a wide range of product offerings including gum, mints, hard and chewy candies, and lollipops. Wrigley’s world-famous brands – including Extra®, Orbit®, Doublemint®, and 5™ chewing gums, as well as confectionery brands Skittles®, Starburst®, Altoids® and Life Savers® – create simple pleasures for consumers every day. With operations in more than 40 countries and distribution in more than 180 countries, Wrigley’s brands bring smiles to faces around the globe. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, employs approximately 17,000 associates globally, and operates as a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and approximately 70,000 Associates worldwide that are putting our Mars Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through our performance.

For more information, visit www.wrigley.com and www.mars.com.

About the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)

The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is a non-government, non-profit organisation promoting sustainable development through environmental education worldwide.
FEE is an international umbrella organisation with one national member organisation per country representing FEE on the national level and in charge of implementing its programmes in that country. FEE currently has 81 member organisations in 68 countries.

Since 1981, FEE has actively promoted and delivered environmental education through its international programmes, which aim to deliver Agenda 21 commitments and involve people of all ages and nationalities through formal school education, training of staff and general awareness raising.

FEE is active mainly through its five environmental education programmes: Blue Flag, Eco-Schools, Young Reporters for the Environment, Learning about Forests and Green Key.
The Eco-Schools programme is a dominant environmental education initiative where students are taught about sustainable development through environmental education woven into the wider curriculum. Through its seven-step process of engaging the whole school community, through student-led initiatives, FEE has the capacity to develop leaders of the future. Currently, more than 14 million students in 58 countries around the world are working with the Eco-Schools programme. 
 
The YRE programme is a significant environmental education initiative, where students also learn about environmental issues and sustainable development across the curriculum. Secondary school students carry out journalistic investigations into a problem and then report it to the local community via their chosen media (local press, radio, web television, conference, exhibitions or a combination of these). At the International level, young reporter groups can also collaborate with each other across borders to produce joint articles. The best articles, photos and video clips receive the International YRE Award and international missions for young reporters are occasionally run. Currently, there are more than 500 projects in more than 25 countries engaged in the YRE programme.
 
About the King Baudouin Foundation U.S.

The King Baudouin Foundation United States (KBFUS) is an American 501(c) (3) public charity that facilitates philanthropic flows from the United States to Europe and Africa. KBFUS assists U.S.-based individuals, corporations and foundations wishing to support non-profit initiatives on these two continents and administers a donor-advised fund, the Wrigley Global Giving Fund, on behalf of the Wrigley Company Foundation. 100% of the support provided for the Litter Less campaign was provided through the Wrigley Global Giving Fund at KBFUS.

About Mars, Incorporated



In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars’ first roots as a confectionery company.  In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of  building a business based on the objective of creating a “mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders” – this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 72,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.

Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, KITEKAT®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital, NUTRO®, SHEBA®, DREAMIES® and CESAR®; Chocolate – M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Wrigley – DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT® and 5™ chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® AND LIFESAVERS® mints.  Food –UNCLE BEN’S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO®; Drinks – ALTERRA ® Coffee Roasters coffee,  THE BRIGHT TEA CO.® tea, DOVE®/GALAXY® Hot Chocolate, and FLAVIA® brewer; Symbioscience – COCOAVIA™ and WISDOM PANEL™.

For more information, please visit www.mars.com.  Follow us: facebook.com/mars, twitter.com/marsglobal, youtube.com/mars.