The Winners of ARC’s $100,000 Grants in Gear Program are Announced!
May 14, 2015. Toronto ON – The Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) and Summerhill Impact have announced the four winners of the Grants in Gear funding program. A five-member jury evaluated each application’s potential to achieve their stated environmental results and deliver against their proposed work plan and budget. The winners, located throughout Alberta and Ontario, will each receive up to $25,000 to help execute their programs and advance the environmental outcomes of their automotive-related projects.
Grants in Gear is a nation-wide program in its second year that provides funding to Canadian environmental non-profit organizations to achieve tangible results in emissions reductions or pollution prevention in the transportation sector and/or excellence in automotive recycling techniques.
“The review committee was impressed with the caliber of applications this year”, states Teresa Di Felice, Director, Government and Community Relations of CAA South Central Ontario. “The winners represent the exciting programs happening in Canada to address sustainability in the automotive and transportation sectors by addressing real-life situations and educational opportunities.”
The four winners:
- University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team, who will convert a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid vehicle decreasing the vehicle’s emissions, while increasing its efficiency and maintaining its performance.
- Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER)(in partnership with Fort Albany First Nation (FAFN), Moosonee Transport Limited and Summerhill Impact), who will develop a long-term Waste Management Plan to recycle and responsibly manage end-of-life vehicles in the Fort Albany First Nations community.
- Inside Education, who will deliver the Clean Air Responsible Schools (CARS) education project to develop an education and action plan aimed at educating students about air quality, specifically related to idling, around their school.
- Sustainable Waterloo Region, who have developed the TravelWise@School pilot project to implement School Travel Action Plans that will increase active transportation and reduce emissions of both students and parents.
Further information about each of the winning projects is provided in the attached supplement.
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About the Automotive Recyclers of Canada
ARC represents over 400 vehicle recyclers and dismantlers from across Canada whose businesses achieve significant results for the environment in areas of waste diversion, energy savings, emissions reductions and pollution prevention. ARC members collectively recycle an average of 400,000 vehicles each year, diverting nearly 400,000 metric tons from landfill. Over 80% of the entire vehicle by weight is reused, re-manufactured or recycled, saving an estimated 80 million barrels of oil annually that would be required to produce new replacement parts.
As the national voice of the automotive recycling industry, ARC provides a forum for channeling information and addressing Canada wide concerns. ARC is an industry leader having helped standardize the process for recycling end-of-life vehicles. For more information about ARC you can visit www.autorecyclers.ca.
About Summerhill Impact
Summerhill Impact is a not-for-profit that is focused on creating and delivering public initiatives that generate positive environmental and health impacts. The national organization works with multi-sector partners to empower individuals through behaviour change programs in product stewardship and pollution prevention. Since 2000, Summerhill Impact has successfully designed and delivered many of Canada’s largest public engagement campaigns. Visit www.summerhillimpact.org to find out more information about Summerhill Impact.
For more information or to schedule an interview with one of the winning organizations, please contact:
Katie Treloar
Citizen Relations (PR for Grants in Gear)
katie.treloar@citizenrelations.com
604 647 6276
Jacqueline Bennett
Citizen Relations (PR for Grants in Gear)
jacqueline.bennett@citizenrelations.com
604 647 2943
Shelby Kerbel
Program Manager
416 922 2448 x 304