Nelson team 2nd in world Volvo environment comp

media bulletin – Volvo

Nelson team second in worldwide Volvo environment competition

31 May 2007

Three Nelson schoolgirls have finished second in a worldwide environment competition run by Volvo and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Sophie Turner, Brittany Packer and Abby Ward, presented their environment project along with 14 other teams of high school students from around the world at the final in Gothenburg, Sweden, earlier this week.

The Volvo Adventure World Final attracted entries from 365 different projects from 47 countries, from which 15 were selected to travel to Sweden for the final.

The Nelson girls won $US 6000 for their project “Plastic Not So Fantastic” – a scheme to reduce the number of plastic bags used by retailers and supermarkets in the Nelson area.

Their project publicised the harmful effects of plastic bags. The girls organised an art exhibition of eco-friendly bags painted by famous New Zealanders and are planning an eco bag week, where plastic bags will be levied at 10 cents each and the cost of eco-bags will be reduced.

Two Indonesian schoolgirls were the winners with “Useful Waste for a Better Future”, a project that not only removes rubbish but also recycles it into sustainable souvenirs and gifts with the additional advantage of adding value and helping overcome poverty.

Presenting the prizes at the Volvo Adventure Awards ceremony, Olle Axelson, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Volvo Cars said, "The pride and the passion all these students have for their own local environment and the wider global picture is highly encouraging and in fact they are all winners."

"But the big winner here is the environment itself, and facing so many challenges on so many fronts, the creativity and dedication of these young people convinces me that the environment is being passed into safe and responsible hands," added Mr. Axelson.

"The Volvo Adventure is immensely inspiring and within the automotive industry in general and Volvo in particular, we can draw great strength and motivation to redouble our environmental efforts."

Volvo Adventure jury member Siw Persson of WWF commented, "We can celebrate the diversity and equality evident on the Volvo Adventure and to note that the winning projects all adopted a holistic approach to environmental sustainability."

Projects are already underway all round the world for the seventh annual Volvo Adventure and the closing date for entries is 31st January 2008.

Notes to Editors

- The Volvo Adventure is an environmental initiative for young people planned and managed by Volvo Car Corporation and Volvo Group.

- The Volvo Adventure dovetails with the Volvo Environment Prize; now in its 18th year, the Volvo Environment Prize is widely known as the ‘seventh unofficial Nobel Prize.'

- Almost 1,500 projects involving over 5,000 young people have been undertaken since the inauguration of the Volvo Adventure in 2002.

- The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has endorsed the Volvo Adventure since 2004.

- Previous winners of the Volvo Adventure have included India, South Africa and Turkey.

- High-resolution, royalty-free images are available upon request or can be downloaded from www.volvoadventure.org

ENDS

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