Celebrating Earth Month on The Public Stage
April 16, 2024
Earth Month, originally started in 1970, has become a month-long reflection on the impact we have on our planet and on the actions needed to create a more sustainable future. At OUTFRONT, we are proud to put action behind our purpose (to help people, places, and business grow stronger) through our three corporate pillars: social justice, food security, and sustainability. Over the past several years, food security and sustainability have become innately tied as food waste contributes to climate change.
For the second year in a row, OUTFRONT is teaming up with WildAid to support its sustainability campaign nationally on billboard and transit canvases across America. This year, Wild Aid’s witty and colorful creative suggests second lives for your leftover or older food, whether it’s upcycling “yesterday’s takeout to tonight’s fried rice” or “stale bread to croutons.” The street-level media also contain a QR code which brings consumers to a landing page where they can learn more about the impact that food waste has on the environment, along with how to actually make the meals pictured in the creative. These lifestyle hacks feel attainable for onlookers, with the positive small changes adding up to big impact.
Stephanie Hill, Climate Marketing Strategy Lead at WildAid, told us more about the campaign and WildAid’s overall strategy. “Up to 40% of food in the U.S. is wasted, which adds up to an astounding 325 pounds of food per person every year,” she said. “Food waste not only means wasted consumer dollars, it is a huge contributor to global warming. That's why WildAid Climate teamed up with the James Beard Foundation and the School of the Visual Arts to create an out of home ad campaign to raise awareness of some of the many ways to reduce food waste.”
“Out of home is the perfect medium for this campaign since it reaches people when they are out and about, including on their way to restaurants and grocery stores,” continued Hill. “We are grateful for the participation of our terrific partners, which includes OUTFRONT.”
In addition to our partnership with WildAid, two series from our Moments by OUTFRONT content platform are featuring relevant content: Moments in Style provides PureWow’s tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint and Moments in Culture is showcasing Fantastical Landscapes of nature and earth from Artsy’s up-and-coming artists.
OUTFRONT is not the only one celebrating. Several of our clients are using our very visible media this month to showcase their sustainable practices. Below is just a sampling from D.C.
Just last week Michelob Ultra presented a Go Green Sustainability Night at the Washington Wizards game against the Milwaukee Bucks, where the first 5,000 fans received a Wizards reusable water bottle. The OOH creative contained game-night information, a QR code to buy tickets, and Earth- and plant-themed creative. The campaign also had a strong social component, with G-Wiz promoting the bottles.
Metro’s Art in Transit program invited K-6 students from Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to submit artwork that highlighted public transportation’s significant role in fostering a sustainable environment. Winning artwork was pictured on the Metro buses during Earth Month!
What’s the best canvas to share your business’ sustainability commitments? The most sustainable form of transportation of course… our various transit networks! Did you know that mass transit removes low occupancy vehicles from the street, reducing our congestion and emissions? Plus, with the new congestion toll in NYC, choosing sustainable transit options makes even more sense. Here are a few stats from our great transit partners on their sustainability practices:
- New York’s MTA: “Every single day, the MTA moves about 8.7 million people by transit—on our subways, buses, and railroads. And when almost 9 million riders a day use public transit, a lot of people are not using cars. That allows our region to avoid more than 17 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year—or more than three times the annual greenhouse gas emissions of San Francisco. It also means New York State has the lowest per capita energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.”
- Washington DC’s WMATA: “Metro’s biggest sustainability impact for the region is in the service it provides - efficient, low-carbon transportation that allows many in the region to have low-or no-car households. In 2022, Metro customers travelled 760,000,000 miles on bus and rail, reducing tailpipe emissions by 240,000 metric tons if those miles would have otherwise been traveled by car.”
- Boston’s MBTA: “The MBTA plays an important role in reducing emissions in Massachusetts—we provide a transit system that meets the needs of the 21st century, helps people get out of their cars, and supports good land use in Greater Boston. To meet the transportation needs of our region, the MBTA uses many forms of energy: electricity, steam, diesel, natural gas, and other carbon-based fuels. We seek to reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment whenever possible.”
Author: Liz Rave, VP Marketing @ OUTFRONT
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