"Planet Smoothie has formed an impressive panel of environmentally aware judges who will select our winner," says Becky Shell, director of marketing for Planet Smoothie. "They will look for an eco-friendly solution to polystyrene that maintains our smoothie's delicious, frozen integrity and is not cost-prohibitive to produce in a mass production environment today," continues Shell.
The Judges:
Sustainability and environmental stewardship has been a cornerstone of Scott Seydel's business endeavors, influencing his companies' emphasis on energy and waste minimization, recycling and recyclability. Seydel serves as Board Chairman of Global Green, where he's been involved in guiding the organization's initiatives in promoting commercial and residential green building projects and renewable resource power generation, water conservation, municipal waste recycling, and the decommissioning of military bases and weapons of mass destruction.
Laura Turner Seydel is Chairman of the Captain Planet Foundation, a partner program to the highly successful environmentally focused Saturday morning cartoon, "Captain Planet and the Planeteers." The Captain Planet Foundation acts as a national educational tool to provide funds to groups conducting environmental projects with elementary, middle and high school students. As a national eco-living expert and "eco-mom" Seydel also plays an active role in supporting environmental issues, from leading environmental voting initiatives to finding new ways to protect the Chattahoochee River.
As a member of multi-platform Climate Initiative team at The Weather Channel, Natalie Allen reports in the field on the visionaries and newsmakers involved with climate change and green solutions. For "Forecast Earth," she has worked with environmental activist David Suzuki and human rights leader Van Jones and has taken a look at the green efforts being made by the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team.
"Each of these individuals has demonstrated their passion for and commitment to the environment," says Shell. "We've have received great submissions since launching the contest earlier this year on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Linked-In, in addition to job boards and we anticipate more submissions in the coming months."
Approaching 100 submissions received with about two months left to go, Planet Smoothie is excited about the prospect of finding a solution for minimizing the effects of polystyrene on the environment. People of all ages, from across the country, are submitting brilliant and talented ideas, making this contest a challenge even for the judges. Will it be reusing the cup for various projects, finding a new form of cup that is better for the environment or offering incentives for those who really "re-use it?" Time will only tell.
"We're impressed with the caliber we've received thus far and look forward to the next three months," say Scott Seydel. "We are excited about the opportunity to be a part of a campaign that gives everyone a chance to show off their inner 'Einstein' knowledge and creativity to better the environment. I commend Planet Smoothie for their willingness to find a solution for serving their smoothies, which are good for everyone and now good for the planet."
About Planet Smoothie
Planet Smoothie is among the top three smoothie concepts in the country, serving real fruit smoothies infused with vitamins and nutrients for active, occasion-driven consumers. Founded in Atlanta in 1995, Planet Smoothie is the original concept in the Raving Brands portfolio. In 2007, it was recognized by Restaurant Business as a "Future 50" concept, one of the fastest growing up and coming concepts in the country. Its sister concept, Planet Smoothie Café, expands the smoothie concept to a more food-oriented experience and features healthy breakfast and lunch menu choices including acai bowls, wraps and salads. For more information, visit www.planetsmoothie.com.
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Media Contact: Christy Olliff Trevelino/Keller Communications Group Email Contact 404-214-0722, ext. 117
