Hyundai Awards Santa Clara University's Office of Sustainability with a $100,000 Grant

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Dec. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Last month, Hyundai collaborated with three California universities to host the Fill It Forward Challenge. The competition challenged students and faculty members from Pepperdine University, Loyola Marymount University, and Santa Clara University to opt for reusable instead of plastic water bottles. Santa Clara University prevailed with 60,022 water bottle refills. On December 6, Hyundai presented a $100,000 grant to Santa Clara University's Office of Sustainability at an award ceremony on campus.

Through the Fill It Forward Challenge and Hyundai Drive the Future initiative, the three universities made a significant impact in helping the environment and limiting plastic use. Together, the three universities saved over 790 lbs of plastic, reduced over 3,950 lbs of waste, saved 75,069 kWH of power (enough to power approximately 7 homes for a year), and reduced 57,948 lbs of emissions (equivalent to the emissions released by four passenger vehicles).

"The students, faculty and staff at each university demonstrated unwavering commitment to the Fill It Forward Challenge, spreading awareness about water sustainability and directly contributing to a cause that makes the world a better and cleaner place," said Erik Thomas, senior group manager, Experiential Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. "We congratulate Santa Clara University and look forward to the impact that it will continue to make on our environment."

Fill It Forward Challenge
Students and faculty members received branded water bottles and university-specific tags, connecting them to the Cupanion Fill It Forward^TM app, which took their reuse experience to a whole new level. Each time participants refilled and scanned their water bottles, Cupanion gave clean water to someone in need and water based projects around the world got funding. The app tracked the number of entries and the school with the most scanned refills was named the winner.

The Drive the Future: A Hyundai Experience activations were managed by INNOCEAN USA. Van Wagner Sports — the athletics multimedia rights holder for LMU, Pepperdine, and Santa Clara — secured the partnership with Hyundai.

Hyundai Motor America
At Hyundai Motor America, we believe everyone deserves better. From the way we design and build our cars to the way we treat the people who drive them, making things better is at the heart of everything we do. Hyundai's technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assurance—our promise to create a better experience for customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide and nearly half of those sold in the U.S. are built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea.

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SOURCE Hyundai Motor America