Honda Civic Tour Featuring Panic At The Disco Announces Details of Environmental Efforts

Honda Civic Tour Featuring Panic At The Disco Announces Details of Environmental Efforts

Tour Embodies Spirit of Earth Day With Numerous Initiatives, Including SPIN Contest Aimed at Making Lasting Contribution to Environmental Movement - and Awarding 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid

LOS ANGELES, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- If you had $15,000 to $50,000 to help heal the environment, how would you spend it? The Honda Civic Tour (www.hondacivictour.com) is asking for answers to that very question with the Honda Civic Tour Panic At The Disco Eco-Challenge Presented By SPIN.*

Through June 30, 2008, contestants can submit an essay (roughly 500 words) at www.spin.com/ecocontest outlining how they would allocate the money raised via the tour's Tickets = Action program, in which a portion of the proceeds from every ticket sold is being contributed to a special eco-fund. The winning submission, selected by Panic At The Disco for its ability to leave a lasting mark on the environmental movement, will receive an endowment from the eco-fund - and the person who submits the winning entry will receive a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid.

You don't need to buy a ticket to get in on the Eco-Challenge, but those attending Honda Civic Tour shows -- including the tour's Earth Day installment, April 22 in Clearwater, Fla. -- will be greeted by fun, easy ways to become more involved in preserving the planet, chief among them the Honda Civic Tour Eco-Spot. Presided over by Panic At The Disco nonprofit partners Reverb and Global Inheritance, the Eco-Spot boasts a carbon-offset station; raffles of enviro-gear and band merchandise; "green" educational outreach; and the Tour de Panic, which enables concertgoers to power their cell phones by riding a bike equipped with the latest in eco-efficient technology.

"We're happy to say the Honda Civic Tour is making every day Earth Day," remarked Panic At The Disco guitarist/songwriter Ryan Ross. "There's recycling backstage, green products on the tour buses, biodegradable food- service stuff, and at every show we're replacing the old-fashioned light bulbs with compact fluorescents, which last much longer and use a lot less energy." Beyond these steps, the Honda Civic Tour is encouraging local promoters and venues to take action; the University of Maine's Alfond Arena, in Orono, is enlisting the power of a biodiesel generator for the Honda Civic Tour's May 2 show.

Honda Canada, too, has been energized by the tour's prominence in the green arena; 2008 marks the Canadian company's debut as a significant force in the yearly outing. To commemorate the Honda Civic Tour featuring Panic At The Disco -- and in celebration of the Honda Civic's 10th year as Canada's best-selling car -- Honda Canada is making a $10,000 contribution to the eco-fund. Panic At The Disco will accept the gift at the tour's Toronto stop, May 14 at Sound Academy.

Speaking of the Honda Civic, the tour is also the place to get up close and personal with the Civic Hybrid customized and autographed by Panic At The Disco before a lucky fan claims it in a national sweepstakes. The Honda Civic Tour is likewise helping to raise environmental awareness and effect positive change by conducting media promotions across North America that encourage support of eco-friendly efforts and education.

Perhaps the '08 tour's most significant earth-friendly initiative, however, is the eco-fund, which will be bestowed on behalf of the Honda Civic Tour featuring Panic At The Disco and all its participants. Any and all suggestions about the eco-fund beneficiary, from an established environmental group to a grassroots scheme to the invention of an ingenious individual, are welcome.

SPIN, along with Reverb and Global Inheritance, will narrow the field to three finalists; Panic At The Disco is charged with naming the ultimate winner. The eco-fund will be awarded as an endowment to the individual or organization identified in the winning submission; whoever dreams up the winning brainstorm, meanwhile, will get the brand-new Honda Civic Hybrid. The Honda Civic Tour Panic At The Disco Eco-Challenge comes courtesy of SPIN magazine, SPIN.com and Alpine Mobile Media Solutions.

Whether customized by Panic At The Disco or not, won, purchased or leased, the Honda Civic Hybrid is one of the most fuel-efficient cars on the road. Still, it represents only one facet of Honda's efforts to address the environmental issues of global warming and energy sustainability; for years the carmaker has been a leader in its comprehensive approach to improving fuel efficiency, reducing emissions, and advancing alternative-fuel technologies and cleaner-energy research. For more information about Honda's green activities, please visit http://world.honda.com/green.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Void where prohibited. Contest open to residents of the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia who are above the age of majority in their state. Complete rules available at www.spin.com/ecocontest.

Honda is committed to offering products with the highest environmental performance produced at factories with the smallest environmental footprint. A leader in the development of cleaner, more fuel-efficient mobility products, Honda introduced the first low-emission vehicles, America's first gas/electric hybrid car, and the world's first government-certified hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, among other environmental achievements. In 2007, Honda was named "greenest automaker" by the Union of Concerned Scientists for the fourth straight time. 2008 marks the fifth consecutive year the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has named the Honda Civic GX natural-gas car "greenest vehicle." For consumer information, visit www.honda.com. Additional media information is available at www.hondanews.com.

SPIN Media: Launched in 1985, SPIN has established itself as one of the most influential voices in music and culture. From the next big things to innovative icons, SPIN provides the most comprehensive coverage via SPIN magazine, SPIN.com and SPIN Digital. With a guaranteed circulation of 450,000 readers, SPIN magazine, a monthly, currently reaches an audience of more than two million.

Reverb is a nonprofit organization helping make concert tours and the music industry safer for the environment. Aside from "greening" tours by fueling vehicles with biodiesel and promoting other earth-friendly products and practices, Reverb engages fans with its traveling, interactive Eco- Village, home to a fan carbon-offset program, green contests and educational outreach.

Global Inheritance is a nonprofit organization working to reinvent activism for today's youth. Global Inheritance's Tour de Panic enables Honda Civic Tour audiences to power their cell phones by riding bikes equipped with the latest in eco-efficient technology. By focusing on the power of creativity to communicate and push for progressive social change, Global Inheritance's programs educate and empower the individual.

Produced by Marketing Factory, the Honda Civic Tour brings innovation and environmental consciousness to the masses by combining the hottest in automotive technology with the hottest in music.

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Source: Honda Civic Tour

CONTACT: Fran Curtis, +1-212-445-8423, fcurtis@rogersandcowan.com, or
Lauren Ceradini, +1-212-445-8418, lceradini@rogersandcowan.com, both of Rogers
& Cowan, for Honda Civic Tour; or Christina Kotsamanidis for Panic At The
Disco, +1-212-707-2241, Christina.Kotsamanidis@atlanticrecords.com; or Chris
Martin of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., +1-310-783-3164,
chris_martin@ahm.honda.com; or Matthew Berkson of Marketing Factory,
+1-310-314-8008, matt@marketingfactory.com; or Elaine Garza of SPIN,
+1-512-382-9017, egarza@spin.com; or Brian Allenby of Reverb, +1-207-221-6553,
brian@reverbrock.org; or Eric Ritz of Global Inheritance, +1-323-854-7061,
ericritz@globalinheritance.org

Web site:

http://www.hondacivictour.com/
http://www.spin.com/ecocontest
http://www.spin.com/
http://world.honda.com/green
http://www.honda.com/
http://www.hondanews.com/
http://www.marketingfactory.com/

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