|
Bridgestone/Firestone Pledges to Help Keep
America Beautiful
Firestone company-owned stores nationwide to
participate in the Great American Cleanup
BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. (March 31, 2003) –Firestone
Tire & Service
Centers will partner with Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) as a
national sponsor of the Great American Cleanup 2003. To foster a
cleaner and healthier environment, company-owned stores across the
country will participate in locally organized clean up, beautification
and community improvement programs.
“We are excited to help sponsor
Keep America Beautiful for a second year,” said Larry Magee,
chairman, CEO and president of BFS Retail & Commercial Operations,
LLC (BFRC), which owns and operates Firestone Tire & Service Centers. “This
program ties into our company values and commitments of serving our
community, specifically encouraging associates to volunteer to work
toward a clean and safe environment.”
The Great American Cleanup, which
runs from March through May, is the nation’s largest organized
cleanup and community improvement program. Each year more than two
million volunteers from across the country pitch in to make their neighborhoods
safer, healthier and more beautiful places to live. The organization
celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with President George W.
Bush serving as honorary chair of this spring’s event.
In addition to announcing local Great
American Cleanup events in their stores via point of purchase displays
that direct volunteers to the KAB Web site (www.kab.org),
several Firestone Tire & Service Centers will also hold their own
beautification efforts. For example, stores in Riverside, Calif.; Kansas
City, Mo.; Bryan, Texas; and Knoxville, Tenn., have committed to acting
as redemption centers where consumers can bring old tires to be recycled.
“Working together, we can improve
the quality of life in our communities by making them more beautiful
places in which to work and live,” said John Sheerin, retail
environmental manager, BFRC. “We’d like to thank our 22,000
associates in advance for their participation in this campaign.”
Bridgestone/Firestone embraces a wide
variety of environmental programs and commitments around the world.
The company recycles tires, oil, oil filters, antifreeze, air conditioning
refrigerant, batteries and lead wheel weights, among other items. Bridgestone/Firestone
manufactures increasingly fuel-efficient tires and our manufacturing
waste output is reduced each year. The company also educates its employees
and conducts regular audits to monitor performance at every location.
Bridgestone/Firestone has received
recognition from many other well-known and respected conservation and
environmental groups for its environmental programs and commitments
throughout the Americas. The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized
the company’s environmental leadership as a charter member of
EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track. In addition,
the Conservation Fund, the Environmental Federation of Oklahoma, the
Iowa Governor’s Office, the Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation, and the National Geographic/Eastman Kodak Company/Conservation
Fund have recently given their environmental awards to Bridgestone/Firestone.
Firestone Tire & Service Centers
are owned and operated by BFRC, which operates the largest number of
company owned full-line automotive retail generalist stores in the
world. MasterCare® technicians perform part repairs and replacements,
routine scheduled maintenance services, and a variety of diagnostic
services covering major systems within a vehicle. For more information
on MasterCare® Car Service or Firestone Tire & Service Center
locations visit www.MasterCareUSA.com.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., is a
national nonprofit organization whose network of more than 500 local,
statewide and international affiliate programs educates individuals
about litter prevention and ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and properly
manage waste materials. The organization will celebrate 50 years of
service, education and community improvement in 2003. |
