Top: Mayor Manny Diaz looks on as the Northwestern High School Band play the opening song for the award ceremony. Bottom: Mayor Diaz, MDCPS Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, Essie S. Pace, Region Superintendent, Charles Hankerson, Principal Miami Northwestern Senior High, and Paul Polizzotto, Founder and CEO of EcoMedia. Photos:  Jorge R. Perez/City of Miami.

Miami, FL (March 13, 2009) – EcoMedia, a leading environmental media company, and CBS Corporation today announced the winner of their Green Schools Initiative in Miami.  In a ceremony hosted by Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and local CBS Station WFOR-TV, CBS4 it was announced that Miami Northwestern High School will be awarded the grand prize “green makeover” that will be overseen by a green schools professional and approved by the Miami-Dade County Public School District. Potential projects could include energy efficient lighting, solar and wind projects, a green roof and internal and external green upgrades.  The Miami-Dade County Public School District will receive the grand prize green makeover for Miami Northwestern and a sustainable environmental program valued at approximately $250,000 in products and services.  

The contest submission by Miami Northwestern High School was chosen by a committee consisting of members of EcoMedia’s Advisory Board that includes U.S. Green Building Council, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, EPA/Energy Star, Waterkeeper Alliance, city and school officials and corporate sponsors.  According to the committee, Miami Northwestern’s submission demonstrated the best overall mix of creative responses to the question, “What does it mean to be green?” 

“It is clear that our students understand the enormous environmental challenges we face, and we are very proud of Miami Northwestern and all of our contest finalists,” said Mayor Manny Diaz. “We look forward to working with CBS and EcoMedia to help Miami Northwestern High School become a benchmark for environmentally friendly schools in Florida.”  

“The CBS & EcoZone Green Schools Initiative offers us a great opportunity to educate and inspire our students to protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices,” said Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.  “As a district, we are inspired by these schools’ entries and look forward to the green makeover at Miami Northwestern High School.”

“We want to thank everyone who is participating in this year’s Green My School Contest,” said Paul Polizzotto, Founder and CEO of EcoMedia. “When you call on the imaginations of children to help solve our biggest problems, it is truly amazing the creativity and passion that transpires.”

“We are proud of everyone who participated and hope this effort will help increase environmental awareness with students across the country, while also challenging them to explore concrete ways to improve our environment,” said Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation.  “We look forward to helping Miami Northwestern become a model green school for the community.”

The grand prize makeover in Miami will be funded by EcoMedia “sustainable media” sponsorships from a cross-section of public and private partners including Microsoft, TCP as well as federal agencies.  The Green Schools Initiative is just one example of EcoMedia’s programs that use sponsorship dollars to help fund energy efficiency and solar projects in public schools and buildings across the country. 

In addition to Miami, the Green Schools Initiative recently awarded Rosa Parks Elementary school in San Francisco with a grand prize green makeover, and will soon award a winning school in Chicago’s Cook County.

“These students are a shining example of how education about environmental responsibility can inspire creative, real-world solutions for more sustainable, energy efficient schools,” said Ellis Yan, CEO, TCP, Inc., official lighting sponsor. “We’re excited to be a part of the effort to reward their hard work and commitment to the environment.”

“Becoming environmentally aware at an early age is a benefit that these students will have as they continue their scholastic and career paths,” said Jack Dunnigan, Assistant Administrator for NOAA. ”Now is the time to make a difference, and participation in the Green My School contest clearly allows students to take ownership of their own present and future environmental responsibilities.”

“These creative young people represent the future of environmental protection in America,” said Mike Zatz, Manager of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings Program.   “We look forward to working with Miami Northwestern students and staff to improve the energy efficiency of their place of learning, and hope that these improvements continue to inspire their environmental stewardship.”

“Green schools are a powerful demonstration of our commitment to our children’s future,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council, “and it’s the best way to show the next generation how we can all make a difference in this world.  We are excited for Miami Northwestern and hope their creativity and that of all our finalists can be used to influence the media and local governments to deliver measurable, meaningful improvements for our environment and the students of our nation.” 

EcoMedia is the proud recipient of the 2009 U.S. Conference of Mayors Award of Excellence for public-private partnership. The Green Schools initiative is another clear example of how EcoMedia’s innovative business model delivers sustainable media. These media buys actually fund energy efficiency and solar projects and technologies that lead to measurable environmental improvements in communities around the nation.  Now, the procurement of media by leading corporations can also benefit the communities where their products and services are sold. 

About EcoMedia
EcoMedia is the world's premier environmental media company, dedicated to innovative marketing and media programs that reach target consumers while generating the resources to help the public tackle critical environmental challenges. Founded in 2002, EcoMedia and its partners CBS and Worldwide Pants, offer clients world-class advertising assets and content that fulfills their marketing objectives while connecting their advertising to concrete environmental initiatives across the country through the EcoZone Program. Up to fifty percent of each sponsor’s media spend goes toward funding measurable efforts by local governments to improve the environment. Examples of EcoZone initiatives have included solar panel installations and lighting retrofits in public buildings, as well as runoff water filtration installations, all funded by sponsor media spends. All projects are approved and overseen by the EcoMedia Advisory Board, made up of environmental leaders such as EPA's Energy Star and the U.S. Green Building Council, in cooperation with mayors and other local officials. The company’s latest program is the CBS & EcoZone Green Schools Initiative.  Approximately $250,000 is planned to be spent in each participating region as part of this Green Schools Initiative.  Visit www.ecozonemedia.com for more information about EcoMedia, the EcoZone Program and the CBS & EcoZone Green Schools Initiative.

About CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is a mass media company with constituent parts that reach back to the beginnings of the broadcast industry, as well as newer businesses that operate on the leading edge of the media industry. The Company, through its many and varied operations, combines broad reach with well-positioned local businesses, all of which provide it with an extensive distribution network by which it serves audiences and advertisers in all 50 states and key international markets. It has operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment, including broadcast television (CBS and The CW – a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable television (Showtime and CBS College Sports Network), local television (CBS Television Stations), television production and syndication (CBS Paramount Network Television and CBS Television Distribution), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon & Schuster), interactive media (CBS Interactive), music (CBS Records), licensing and merchandising (CBS Consumer Products), video/DVD (CBS Home Entertainment), in-store media (CBS Outernet) and motion pictures (CBS Films). For more information, log on to www.cbscorporation.com.

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