Month: April 2025

Actor and environmental advocate Auli’i Cravalho welcomed guests to London’s Natural History Museum to honor the coastal communities behind one of the world’s largest* coral reef restoration programs

LONDON, April 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the SHEBA^® brand, part of the Mars family of brands, announced the new documentary, “Reef Builders,” will be available to stream globally from Monday 14th April on Prime Video. The film saw its official World Premiere last night at an exclusive teal-carpet event hosted by the SHEBA^® brand at The Natural History Museum in London.

 

 

The new documentary spotlights the inspiring stories of the people behind the Sheba Hope Grows™ program – part of one of the world’s largest* coral reef restoration programs led by Mars Sustainable Solutions (MSS) – and the vital role of ocean communities in the move to restore our planet’s coral.

The SHEBA^® brand hosted the World Premiere for the film, with attendees including broadcaster and author Stacey Dooley, press, creators, and members of the film’s cast and crew, including actor, environmental advocate and associate producer, Auli’i Cravalho. Guests walked the teal carpet, a homage to the sweeping footage of underwater ocean scenes that can be seen in the documentary, and experienced the first official public screening of the film.

“Growing up in the islands of Hawaiʻi taught me just how lucky we are to live in harmony with our oceans. It’s easy for me to want to protect my own backyard, but this film allows audiences around the world to come together to learn about the vital importance of coral reef restoration. Being a small part of the solution makes me optimistic about the future of our oceans,” says Auli’i Cravalho, actor, environmental advocate and associate producer. “I’m thrilled to be here in London to present ‘Reef Builders’ to the world. The huge platform that Prime Video provides will allow those both near and far from the restoration conversation to have a front row seat not only to coral reef degradation and restoration, but also the profound impact on local coastal communities.”

Following the screening of the film, guests enjoyed a panel discussion featuring Auli’i, Victoria Noble, Executive Producer, Professor David Smith, Chief Marine Scientist, Mars Incorporated, and Senior Director, Mars Sustainable Solutions, Mindy Barry, Global Vice President, SHEBA^® and Tamsin Raine, Co-Founder, Ocean Culture Life (OCL).

“The SHEBA brand is all about creating extraordinary experiences for cats and cat parents – from the products we make to telling extraordinary stories of hope,” said Mindy Barry, Global Vice President of Marketing, SHEBA Brand. “Since 2021, the Sheba Hope Grows™ program has supported coral reef restoration and the communities and partners who are leading this critical work around the world. The release of ‘Reef Builders’ marks a huge milestone for the program to share this incredible story of hope through the power of film, which enables audiences to immerse themselves in the rich stories of local communities, scientists, and reef builders. Our aspiration is for audiences to walk away feeling hopeful that there are solutions and to be inspired to take action themselves.”

The premiere event featured a brand-new immersive soundscape experience incorporating sounds recorded on a healthy coral reef. The 360 immersive audio-visual journey – brought to life by the Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer Emily Bear – surrounded guests with experiences of the reef, engaging both sight and sound.

The audience witnessed a conceptual coral reef transform before their eyes, as dynamic lighting shifted the atmosphere from dark and subdued, to vivid and lively. This showstopping experience underscored the urgent need to protect coral reefs. New research from the SHEBA^® brand reveals a critical gap in public awareness about coral reefs – driven by limited education, media coverage and personal exposure. Most people (73%) underestimate how much of our coral reefs have been lost in the past 30 years (Wakefield Research survey, 2025). But in truth, in the period between 1957 and 2007, researchers found that the world’s coral reefs declined by over 50% (One Earth, 2021). 

“Sound can create intense emotion in humans, and in the case of coral reefs, it can be a sign of life. While drawing inspiration from marine scientists on this project, it was fascinating to learn that thriving coral reef ecosystems produce a symphony of sounds, such as popping, whooping, and crackling. It’s full of movement, rhythm, and harmony – something that holds true in music as well,” says composer Emily Bear. “Creating this soundscape was a unique opportunity to bring the ocean’s voice to an on-land audience. This experience helps really underscore the larger mission of the ‘Reef Builders’ film.”

Dive into the inspiring story of coral reef restoration – “Reef Builders” will be available to stream globally on Prime Video beginning Monday the 14th of April. Plus, for those in the U.S. and Canada, the SHEBA brand has partnered with Amazon on a Stream it Forward donation campaign. From April 14 – June 29, 2025, Amazon will donate $1 (USD) for every hour streamed in the U.S. (up to $100,000) to non-profit organization Kuleana Coral Restoration, the SHEBA brand partner helping to restore and protect Hawai`i’s coral reefs and native ecosystem. Similarly, from April 14-June 29, 2025, Amazon will donate $1CAD for every hour streamed in Canada (up to $30,000 CAD) to Corales de Paz, the SHEBA brand partner helping to restore and protect coral reefs in Colombia.

To learn more about the documentary and the Sheba Hope Grows™ program visit SHEBA.com/Sustainability and follow the brand on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. 

About Mars, Incorporated  

Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $50bn+ family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN^®, PEDIGREE^®, WHISKAS^®, CESAR^®, DOVE^®, EXTRA^®, M&M’s^®, SNICKERS^® and BEN’S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.   

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. 

*In terms of restoration sites and partners.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2661556/SHEBA.jpg
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2636893/SHEBA_Logo.jpg

 

 

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SOURCE SHEBA

The House Committee’s passage of H.R. 845 advances gray wolf delisting, allowing states to manage recovered populations and preventing judicial review, a move Hunter Nation celebrates as a win for science-based conservation and local control. 

MISSION, Kan., April 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — House Bill H.R. 845, the “Pet and Livestock Protection Act of 2025” introduced in the United States House of Representative in January 2025 by Representative Tom Tiffany (WI-7) and Representative Lauren Boebert (CO-4) was successfully passed from the House Committee on Natural Resources today.

“Hunter Nation salutes the House Natural Resources Committee for voting the ‘Pet and Livestock Protection Act’ out of committee, and we also thank Rep. Tom Tiffany and Rep. Lauren Boebert for their unwavering support of hunters and our hunting lifestyle,” said Keith Mark, President/Founder of Hunter Nation. “The delisting of the gray wolf is a policy change we have been fighting for since our founding. The recovery of the gray wolf is an incredible conservation success story that should be celebrated. This legislation allows each state to manage the now recovered wolf population just as they manage all other wildlife within the state. The best part of this legislation is the provision that prevents judicial review of the legislative action which will preclude anti-hunting groups from using activist judges to interfere with sound, science-based conservation,” added Mark.

During a recent Congressional hearing in Washington DC, where the merits of delisting the gray wolf were being debated, biologist and wildlife management expert Dr. Nathan M. Roberts , testified and laid out these undeniable facts:

• In the Great Lakes region alone, there are an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 wolves, a population level more than ten times the original recovery goal.
• Recovery goals have been surpassed every year since at least 1994, yet the wolf remains listed, tying the hands of state wildlife managers.
• Scientific studies, including work by Adams et al. (2008) , show that harvest rates of up to 29% of a state’s wolf population will have no negative impact on wolf population trajectories.

It’s Time for Congress to Act

Hunter Nation is calling on the US Senate and the US House to pass the Senate bill introduced by Senators Johnson, Lee and Barrasso and pass H.R. 845, introduced by Representatives Boebert and Tiffany and other common-sense reforms to the ESA that restore management power to the states. We stand with America’s hunters, ranchers, and state wildlife managers who know firsthand that local control works .

Hunter Nation remains committed to holding Congress accountable and ensuring that common sense and science, not radical activism, drive America’s wildlife management policies.

***Hunter Nation is America’s leading grassroots organization advocating for the rights of hunters and the responsible management of wildlife. We fight for the freedom to hunt and fish, and we champion science-based wildlife management policies.***

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SOURCE Hunter Nation

WATERTOWN, S.D., March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — EnviTec Biogas has reached a significant milestone in the U.S. market. With the recent commissioning of its largest anaerobic digestion plant in the country to date, the biogas specialist – through its U.S. subsidiary – is strengthening its partnership with SJI Renewable Energy Ventures and local suppliers. Located in South Dakota, the plant has been processing over 300,000 gallons (1,100 cubic meters) per day of manure from more than 9,500 dairy cows per day since the beginning of the year. It is expected to produce 483 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) of renewable natural gas (RNG) (778 Nm³/h biomethane), equivalent to around 177,000 million BTU per year. This new facility marks a significant milestone for EnviTec Biogas, which has been pioneering the biogas industry in the U.S. since the commissioning of its first project in 2012.

“This facility marks the fifth of a total of 15 biogas plants we are developing for our client, a leading company in renewable energy and sustainable solutions,” explains Lars von Lehmden, CEO of EnviTec Biogas USA Inc. Eight of these plants are on farms operated by a leading diversified agribusiness in the US. “This new facility is a true win-win for both business and the environment,” adds Timothy Logan, President of EnviTec Biogas Construction LLC. “Not only does it convert organic dairy waste into renewable biogas, but it also helps reduce the overall carbon footprint of dairy farming.”

Local Tank Manufacturing and Comprehensive Service Offerings

Beyond this milestone, EnviTec Biogas continues to stand out as the only provider in the U.S. market offering high-quality, locally manufactured concrete tanks. This is made possible through a sustainable partnership with Collins Precast LLC, a leading producer of precast concrete components and buildings in the Upper Midwest.

“Our concrete tank design is the first of their kind to be approved in South Dakota,” Logan adds. In addition to constructing the integrated biogas and biomethane upgrading facility, the client has also signed a multi-year service contract with EnviTec to provide technical scheduled services, service on demand, 24/7 hotline support, and biological services from the office/warehouse in Watertown, SD. “Especially during the commissioning and ramp-up phase, we have been providing weekly sampling and analysis through our laboratory in Watertown,” says Logan.

With the completion of the fifth project in this partnership with SJI, EnviTec Biogas has now successfully delivered one-third of the planned portfolio for its client. Three additional projects recently completed cold commissioning and are transitioning to ramp up stage, with EnviTec’s first Minnesota projects being brought online later this year.

EnviTec Biogas AG has completed over 700 biogas plants since 2002 in 18 countries worldwide with feedstocks ranging from dairy manure to food waste. EnviTec Biogas AG’s portfolio of technologies includes anaerobic digestion, gas upgrading, ammonia stripping, bio-LCO2 and bio-LNG.

For more information on EnviTec Biogas and its renewable energy solutions, please visit

www.envitec-biogas.us

About EnviTec Biogas USA Inc.

EnviTec Biogas USA Inc. is an independent subsidiary of EnviTec Biogas AG, Germany. Based in Beaverton, Oregon, the company covers the entire value chain to produce renewable natural gas, heat and power: this includes the planning and construction of anaerobic digestion and biogas upgrading plants as well as their commissioning. If required, the company handles biological and technical services and offers operational management. The parent company operates 87 of its own plants, making it the largest biogas producer in Germany. EnviTec’s business activities also include the production and marketing of climate neutral fuels (bio-LNG) for the transport sector as well as food-grade liquid carbon dioxide (LCO₂). The company is currently represented in 16 countries worldwide with its own companies, sales offices, strategic cooperations, and joint ventures. In the USA, EnviTec has offices and warehouses in Rochester in New York and Watertown in South Dakota and is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. In 2023, the EnviTec Group generated revenue of USD 429.29* million and EBT of USD 90.84* million. The Group currently employs some 690 people. EnviTec Biogas AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since July 2007.
*Rate as of Jan 3, 2025

Contact USA
Timothy Logan
EnviTec Biogas USA Inc.
Phone: +1 971-341-9875
E-Mail: t.logan@envitec-biogas.com

Contact Germany
Katrin Hackfort
EnviTec Biogas AG
Phone: +49 25 74 88 88 – 810
E-mail: k.hackfort@envitec-biogas.de

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SOURCE EnviTec Biogas Construction LLC