PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, 1 November 2000 – The WILD Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be honouring four companies -- Animal Planet, Jaguar Cars, American Electric Power and Home Depot -- and their advertising firms with the 2000 WILD Awards at a luncheon ceremony on Thursday, 2 November, at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Organized by The WILD Foundation, in cooperation with UNEP, the awards, first inaugurated a year ago by the Executive Director of UNEP, Klaus Toepfer, are designed to enhance corporate consciousness, promote responsible use of wildlife and wilderness in advertising and encourage corporate philanthropy that supports the conservation and sustainability of the wild world.  UNEP has a long history of working with the private sector through the development and promotion of partnerships with key industrial sectors.

winners of the 2000 WILD Awards are:

• Animal Planet, for their trademark featuring of nature and wildlife in their advertising and programming. From its inception, Animal Planet has provided viewers with a diverse mix of programming that captures the deep emotional connections between people and animals. Their unparalleled respect and portrayal of wild nature sets a new standard for communicating with integrity for wild nature and provide a major impetus in public awareness of environmental conservation.

 
• Jaguar Cars, Ltd., and its advertising agency Green Team Advertising, Inc., 'Jaguar Saving Jaguars' campaign, featuring their namesake, the largest cat in the Americas. Through this campaign, Jaguar Cars, Ltd., is donating $1 million to the Bronx-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) over the next five years to help establish a new research programme on jaguars. They have also supported an action plan of science, education and training, which contributed to the creation of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, a continuous, protected corridor of land in Central and South America, aimed at protecting biological diversity and to help in the long-term survival of jaguars in the wild.
   
• American Electric Power, and its advertising agency HMS Hallmark, for AEP’s 'The Wilds' ad campaign. The Wilds, a non-profit conservation center in Ohio established by AEP, provides public education and research about conservation issues for the survival of wildlife. The Wilds spans nearly 10,000 acres of reclaimed, surface-mined land where African, Asian, and North American wildlife species roam freely. AEP has also demonstrated its commitment to the environment through its carbon sequestration and reforestation programmes in Bolivian and Brazilian National Parks.

 
• Home Depot,and their advertising agency The Richards Group, for their television commercials featuring pandas Lun-Lun and Yang-Yang in their new Zoo Atlanta home and for their integral role in bringing the pandas to the United States to educate zoo visitors about this endangered species. Through their commitment to Zoo Atlanta, Home Depot constructed the Panda Habitat and is donating $1 million to the panda exhibit over the next five years. In addition, Home Depot has demonstrated its environmental citizenship through programmes dealing with sustainable and green building practices, clean-up and recycling, lead poisoning prevention and consumer education. It also has an extensive grants programme, with $750,000 being awarded to 60 environmental non-profit organizations during 1999 alone.

 

In addition, the Joseph R. Daly Award, a special award named after the renowned figure from the advertising community, is being presented to Dr. Wouter van Hoven, Professor of Wildlife Management at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, for his widely acclaimed public awareness efforts on behalf of wildlife conservation. Dr. van Hoven’s recent work has included the establishment of the Kissima Foundation, which is concerned about the present state of Angola’s National Parks and the conservation of that country’s natural resources in general. The Foundation’s primary objective is the rehabilitation of Quicama National Park, including the reintroduction of wildlife and the capture and management of animals still present in Angola, as well as training of park wardens, technicians and other personnel.

'Through the recognition of the efforts of the corporate world and their advertising firms on behalf of wild nature', Mr. Adnan Z. Amin, Director, UNEP New York Office , noted, 'UNEP and The WILD Foundation hope to demonstrate that environmental protection, corporate responsibility and profitability can be mutually supportive and a part of daily business practices.'

Together with the International Labour Organization and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNEP is also a major partner in the Secretary-General's Global Compact, which calls on business worldwide to promote a series of basic principles in relation to human rights, labour standards and environmental protection.

Representatives of last year's inaugural WILD Awards winners -- Mutual of Omaha, Nedbank South Africa, Canon USA and Georgia Power -- will be in attendance and participate in the awards ceremony. The star of the Broadway hit 'Swing', Ann Hampton Callaway, will conclude the awards’ programme with her original composition 'At The Same Time'.