Lone Star Eco-Bus

Sustainability Takes to the Road on Eco-Bus Tour in Texas

The Walmart Foundation has given the Rio Bravo Wildlife Institute a $100,000 grant to support an Eco-Bus outreach initiative.

The Walmart Foundation has provided the Rio Bravo Wildlife Institute (RBWI) with a Texas State grant for $100,000 to support an Eco-Bus outreach initiative designed to reach out to individuals and communities with information and tools they can use to live more sustainably.

The Eco-Bus will be retrofitted to be a rolling demonstration model for green living. It will use renewable energy and include a variety of state-of-the-art features aimed at reducing its impact on the environment.

As part of its “Lone Star Tour” in 2011, the Eco-Bus will visit six cities around the state, where it will become a showcase for sustainability. Consumers will have the opportunity to tour the bus and hear from its onboard team of Earth Ambassadors who will share their knowledge and insights on a range of topics related to the environment. Earth Ambassadors and Walmart associates will join together in a planet stewardship project to benefit the community.

“We are pleased to be working with Walmart on this initiative,” says Carol Sebastian, executive director of Rio Bravo Wildlife Institute. “The Eco-Bus offers a creatively fun way of joining hands with our communities to work together to live more sustainably. This grant literally puts a first-of-its kind approach ‘on the road’ to help improve the well-being of our communities, right now and for generations to come.”

“At Walmart, sustainability continues to make us a better company by reducing waste, lowering costs, driving innovation, and helping us fulfill our mission to save people money so they can live better,” said Jeff McAllister, divisional senior vice president for Walmart Stores in Texas. “We proudly support projects like the Rio Bravo Wildlife Institute’s Eco-Bus that help make sustainability accessible and practical.”

The Rio Bravo Wildlife Institute is committed to creating a healthy planet for nature and people. The organization’s approach to sustainability is centered on Creating Uncommon Connections for the Common Good and is integrated with social, economic, environmental and cultural values at all levels.