Campaign Inspires Listeners to Take Simple Actions During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond That Positively Impact the Planet and Help Save Money
iHeartRadio Earth Inaugural Partners Include the National Environmental Education Foundation and VolunteerMatch
NEW YORK – April 22, 2020 – iHeartMedia, the number one audio company in the United States, today celebrated Earth Day 2020 with the launch of iHeartRadio Earth, a new sustainability initiative designed to inspire iHeart’s millions of listeners to take action to positively impact the environment.
The first phase of the campaign, which launched today, focuses on the environmental impact of consumers’ behavioral changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic; with millions of Americans staying home, there has been a significant increase in energy and water usage as well as how families shop for, consume and dispose of food. The series of PSAs developed in partnership with the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), the nation’s leading organization in lifelong environmental learning, provide useful tips and information that will promote insights about environmentally conscious actions and behavior while also helping consumers save money during this unprecedented and challenging time. The program also provides listeners with information about virtual ways to explore the outdoors, including free guided tours of national parks, online workshops and more.
Over the course of the year, iHeartRadio Earth will evolve to include a series of local environmental events and initiatives, social media activations, on-air personality and celebrity endorsements and a year-long PSA campaign that will educate audiences across iHeart’s stations and platforms about small steps they can take in their daily lives to make a positive impact in their own communities and on the planet. Additionally, the company plans to create a slate of podcasts that will focus on an array of environmental concerns and issues, as well as adding in a layer of environment-related messaging within other relevant and popular podcasts.
iHeartRadio Earth is designed to sharpen the company’s focus on sustainability with the goal of increasing listeners’ knowledge of simple actions they can take every day to help the environment. The campaign is rooted in the belief that millions of small actions have the potential to make a massive difference for the environment. All of iHeartRadio Earth’s efforts will lead listeners to an online destination for more information on how to conserve and protect the planet in their own communities. The website also provides an opportunity to search for local virtual volunteer activities powered by VolunteerMatch.
“iHeartMedia reaches 9 out of 10 Americans every day. If every one of our listeners took one or two small steps within their day-to-day routines to do things like conserve energy and reduce waste and water, we have a massive opportunity to make lasting impact on the world today and for the future,” said Bob Pittman, iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO. “Through iHeartRadio Earth we will continually inform, educate and inspire our listeners to drive social change by providing them with information, opportunities and resources to make a difference for the environment.”
"As we stay home to try to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, many of us are beginning to recognize the importance of connecting with nature," said Meri-Margaret Deoudes, president and CEO of the National Environmental Education Foundation. "Spending more time indoors has also significantly increased household water, energy and food consumption. With these factors in mind, we are excited to collaborate on the iHeartRadio Earth campaign by providing listeners with helpful tips for saving money and reducing their impact on the environment."
About VolunteerMatch
Founded in 1998, VolunteerMatch is the most effective way to recruit highly qualified volunteers for nonprofits. We are the largest nonprofit network in the world with the most nonprofits and volunteer opportunities. We believe everyone should have the chance to make a difference. That's why we make it easy for good people and good causes to connect. We've connected millions of people with great places to volunteer and helped tens of thousands of organizations better leverage volunteers to create real impact.
About The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)
Congressionally chartered in 1990, NEEF is a non-partisan, non-advocacy organization working to make the environment more accessible, relatable, relevant and connected to people’s daily lives. We build effective public-private partnerships and develop programs and initiatives that advance environmental education and engagement in the United States. Learn more at NEEFusa.org.
