NDTV-Toyota begin the second wave of Green Campaign

Media News

New Delhi, August 12, 2009

After a hugely successful first year which raised over Rs. 2 crores to light up 50 villages in India for TERI’s ‘Lighting a Billion Lives’ project, NDTV and Toyota are ready to roll out the second wave of their ‘Green Campaign’ which includes the 24 hour nonstop television programming ‘Greenathon’. The second year encourages every citizen to adopt simple yet compelling causes, like – Say No to Plastic Bags; Save Water; Plant a Tree; Get Rid of Air Pollution; Save India’s Coastal lines & Save the Rivers – enabling them to create a cleaner and greener tomorrow. Actor Priyanka Chopra will play a key role as the campaign ambassador in this initiative.

These mini-campaigns will culminate into Greenathon, a 24-hour non-stop live television programming across all NDTV channels dedicated to improve the environment, like the previous year. With the aim to garner public support, NDTV will telecast documentaries on each of the mini-campaigns, organise on-grounds events, clean-up drives and signature campaigns. Citizens will be encouraged to donate financially and contribute with ideas for the cause on green.ndtv.com. This campaign will make use of different media platforms like TV, internet, paper, mobile, radio to reach across to the widest audience possible.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV Ltd, said, "From the smallest individual to the highest level of government, each one of us has to take action to minimise future harm to the environment. NDTV and Toyota, through the Green Campaign have taken the responsibility to initiate a nationwide movement for people to take the green pledge and do every bit to stop further harm to our environment. The staggering response we received in the first year from our viewers and people from all walks of life only makes our belief, to effect a change, much stronger. This year too, we strive to continue our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint through actions that will make a difference."

Pledging her support as the Green Campaign’s ambassador, Priyanka Chopra added, "The environment needs our attention now. Every little effort we make as individuals will grow into a nationwide movement that will ensure that we collectively arrest the damage being done to our environment. With NDTV’s initiative, we hope to raise awareness about the simple solutions that can affect a big change. I’m very proud to be a part of this initiative and I hope, together, we are able to take on the responsibility of continuing a collective action to preserve our environment."

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Environment and Forests said, "The issue of global warming needs a nationally coordinated response that is both conscientious and sincere. While environment is an area where our society is active, there is still a need for a nationwide effort to educate our people to use our depleting resources more efficiently. NDTV & Toyota have come together to take up this huge challenge and their efforts combined with the participation of the Government, concerned individuals, educational institutions and civil society groups, will help expand our green footprint and secure the planet for our future generations."

Dr. RK Pachauri, Nobel Laureate for Peace Prize 2007, Director General TERI and Chairman IPCC who has lent his support to this campaign since its launch, commented, "We need to start worrying about the environment and ensure that some of the damage can be reversed. I believe India must lead in bringing about this revolution and hope that this Green Campaign is only the start of something that will really spark the beginning of a movement. The first year of this initiative was really an inspiring experience. The atmosphere at the Greenathon was absolutely electrifying with response from everyone, people phoning in, stars, prominent industrialists and leaders from all walks of life. It is wonderful to see this partnership flourishing between NDTV and TERI and we look forward to the second year with a great deal of interest and enthusiasm."

Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motors added, "In today's times, it is vital to integrate corporate philanthropy into core business strategies. After all, saving energy and reducing waste contributes to the well being of the organisation, its employees and to the society at large. At Toyota, our highest priority is to ensure that our operations are in harmony with both the environment and society. We are proud to carry forward our association with NDTV into the second year of the Green Campaign and look forward to promote the cause of the environment."

'NDTV-Toyota Green Campaign' with the premise ‘Open up Tomorrow, Today’, is a three year nationwide environment campaign that aims at creating awareness about issues that threaten the future of our planet. The campaign received an overwhelming response from India’s leading corporates, top Bollywood stars, musicians, environmentalists, NGOs and educational institutions who showed their solidarity towards the cause by participating in various clean up drives, marathon and entertaining the audience round-the-clock with their performances as part of the Greenathon, the 24 hour nonstop television programming. The money raised through this effort was donated to TERI’s ‘Lighting a Billion Lives’ project, solar powering villages across the country. Some of the generous donors for the campaign who adopted villages last year were Shilpa Shetty; Shahrukh Khan and Billu team; Lalit Modi; Yuvraj Singh; Sanjay Dutt and family; Preity Zinta, Nokia; Coca-Cola and, Aarav, son of actor Akshay Kumar.

For further information, please contact:

NDTV

Aarti Laxmanan

Mobile: 011-4157 7777

Email: aartil@ndtv.com