smart Canada to support Earth Day Canada’s national EcoMentor program

smart Canada is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Earth Day Canada (EDC) to provide valuable support for its national EcoMentor program. EcoMentors play an essential role in environmental education, and this mandate perfectly complements smart Canada’s mission of helping to make communities more functional, healthier and environmentally compatible. Through this new partnership and other highly successful ongoing initiatives such as the smart city project, smart remains passionately committed to making urban environments cleaner and more sustainable for all.

This cooperation will help fund the participation of 1,000 Canadian youth in a three-day "Beyond Green" Summit that will explore the ways they can take an active leadership role in facilitating environmental change. The partnership will also provide up to 20 Earth Day Canada EcoLeaders in select cities across the country with a smart fortwo to help them accomplish their objectives and also promote a national Test Drive Donation program. Throughout August and September, smart Canada will donate $10 for every test drive to support Earth Day Canada in raising awareness and promoting positive change in support of a healthier environment.

The fuel-efficient, safe and versatile smart fortwo is ideally suited to further empower EcoLeaders to spread their message by providing the mobility they need to continue important training and outreach that is designed to engage and inspire youth. The success of Earth Day Canada’s programs lies in the fact that they teach Canadians simple, easy-to-accomplish actions that any person can implement on their own.

"We are thrilled to welcome smart Canada as a partner," said Jed Goldberg, President of Earth Day Canada. "Through many actions and innovative programs, smart has demonstrated that it is deeply committed to helping enable positive change at the community level. Our core objective is to help provide Canadians with the tools and resources they need to minimize the environmental impact of their daily lives, and smart Canada’s generous support will go a long way in helping us achieve our goals."

"smart has been a pioneer and a leader in providing intelligent and environmentally sound transportation solutions for our customers, so it is only natural for us to support like-minded organizations," said Nicole Israng, Head of smart Marketing. "Research has shown that smart customers are very conscious about their environmental impact, which is also reflected in their decision to drive a smart fortwo. We applaud the great strides that Earth Day Canada has made throughout the past 20 years, and look forward to working closely with them to help affect change."

smart Canada has already recognized many creative concepts from the collection of more than 2,000 ideas that have been submitted through the smart city project. The search for additional initiatives to implement will continue, and city dwellers from across the country are urged to continue to share their own ideas about how they can create a healthier environment and make a big impact on their community.

To make a suggestion, tweet @smartCanada and highlight ideas using the #thesmartcity hashtag, or visit the interactive online hub for the program at
www.thesmartcityproject.ca and www.facebook.com/smartCanada. In the next major phase of this ongoing project, smart Canada will award $50,000 to fund a project to help turn someone’s vision into a reality. In addition, the person who submits the selected idea will also receive an all-new smart ebike.

Further information about the smart fortwo can be found online at www.media.mercedes-benz.ca, www.smart.com, facebook.com/smartCanada and twitter.com/smartCanada.

For more information, please contact:

smart Canada

Earth Day Canada