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Budweiser is encouraging men to not shave in order to save water.
This weekend, as the international community gears up for World Environment Day (June 5, 2011), Budweiser is asking adult men across the U.S. to help save 1 million gallons of water by not shaving.
As part of Budweiser’s ongoing commitment to water conservation, the “Grow One. Save a Million.” program encourages consumers to get involved by skipping a shave. The average shave uses 3 to 10 gallons of water.
Consumers 21 years of age and older can visit Budweiser’s Facebook page to make a pledge and share the water-conservation program with Facebook friends. Participants can commit to a range of no-shaving options, from a few days to multiple weeks. The page also features a daily tracker of the gallons of water saved to date.
“Water is a key ingredient in brewing Budweiser and all our beers, which is why water conservation is a priority both inside and outside our breweries,” says Kathy Casso, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Anheuser-Busch. “In the past three years alone, our 12 U.S. breweries have reduced water use by 34 percent. Additionally, our employees and their families take action by volunteering to participate in local river-cleanup projects in communities across the country.”
In 2010, more than 1,200 employees from Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch skipped shaving for one week prior to World Environment Day, helping to save about 42,000 gallons of water. This year, Budweiser is expanding the effort by inviting suppliers, partners, wholesalers, retailers and consumers to join the effort.
“Every gallon of water that we conserve makes a difference to our communities. So when thousands of people get together for one common cause, great things can happen,” says Chad Pregracke, founder of Living Lands & Waters and the face of the program on Budweiser’s Facebook page. “By pledging to skip shaving and ‘grow one,’ guys can literally wear their commitment to conserving our most valuable natural resource.”
In 1998, Pregracke founded Living Lands & Waters, a non-profit organization based in East Moline, Ill., dedicated to cleaning up and preserving U.S. rivers. For 20 years, River Network has provided organizational, technical and networking assistance to people working for watershed protection at the local, state and regional levels. Today, the organization has grown to include 10 full-time employees. Since the organization’s inception, more than 60,000 volunteers have helped remove more than 6 million pounds of debris from rivers. For his efforts, Pregracke has received numerous national awards.
As part of its annual recognition of World Environment Day, Anheuser-Busch and its Budweiser brand will again donate $150,000 to River Network to help support the organization’s watershed-conservation projects in each of the company’s 12 U.S. brewery cities. These projects will include stream and river cleanups, education programs, tree plantings and various activities that support the environment and provide employees and local wholesalers the opportunity to volunteer in their communities.
World Environment Day is a day set aside by the United Nations to create awareness of the environment and encourage participation in sustainability programs.
