America Recycles Day: Going Green at Verizon Wireless With 20 Retail Stores Now LEED® Certified

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- On America Recycles Day – and everyday – Verizon Wireless works to protect the environment and help customers do the same. From a growing list of LEED® certified retail stores, including four in Northern California, to its exclusive HopeLine® phone recycling program, the company is committed to help protect the earth today and conserve valuable resources for the future.

A few of the green initiatives include:

Energy Efficiency: Built into Verizon Wireless Communications Stores

The company now has 20 retail stores nationwide – 16 in the western U.S. -- that have earned LEED® certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the United States Green Building Council. The stores' design optimizes water and energy use, enhances indoor environmental quality and reduces waste through responsible procurement and construction practices.  More than 200 tons of waste generated during the construction of these stores was kept out of landfills, recycling the equivalent weight of more than 100 cars. The ongoing conservation measures used in the daily operation of the stores place them among the most energy-efficient facilities in the U.S.

More than 75 additional stores, the most of any wireless retailer, have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR qualification, the national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection.

Paperless Billing: Save trees when accessing account information

Verizon Wireless' Green Bill puts account information online at customers' fingertips. Customers can sign up for a direct payment option, view itemized charges on their accounts or make payments all from the My Verizon website. Save a tree. Go paperless.

Solar Cell Sites: Harnessing the sun to help power the Verizon Wireless network

Verizon Wireless has 29 solar-assisted cell sites in the western United States that extend the nation's largest and most reliable wireless network to remote areas.

Energy-Saving Technology: Verizon Wireless Information Technology goes green

The company decreased emissions and energy use by incorporating energy-saving technology on company desktops and reduced the power used by company workstations. This year, Verizon Wireless was named for the second time as one of the Top 12 Green IT Vendors by Computerworld. Additionally, Verizon Communications was recently named as one of the Top 100 global green companies in Newsweek magazine's 2010 Green Rankings.

More environmentally-friendly: Product packaging and materials

From the manufacturer's phone boxes to brochures and signs, more in-store materials are using recycled paper products and biodegradable materials to conserve resources. Standardizing shipping boxes and packing materials has saved even more. By year end, the company plans to eliminate all Styrofoam cups from its West Area Call Centers and office locations. By replacing these cups with a more environmentally-friendly reusable mug, the company will do away with more than two-million non-biodegradable cups.

HopeLine®: Recycle old phones and keep them out of landfills

Phones and accessories from any service provider are collected at all Verizon Wireless retail stores or by downloading a postage-paid label at www.verizonwireless.com/hopelinemailinglabel. Old phones are either refurbished for reuse or recycled in an environmentally sound way under a zero landfill policy. To date, more than 7 million no-longer-used wireless phones have been recycled or disposed of properly, more than 180,000 pounds of batteries have been recycled and more than 200 tons of electronic wastes have been kept out of landfills. Every 5,000 phones that are recycled saves 11,000 kilowatt hours of energy – enough energy to power one U.S. household with electricity for a year.

Products & Services: Verizon Wireless helps customers conserve too!

• VZ Navigator®: Find the most direct route to a destination and save on fuel costs. Customers can also get traffic information so they don't waste gas while stuck in traffic. FuelFinder locates the least expensive gas nearby.
• Go Green Apps: Customers can take the quizzes, "R U Green" and "Green IQ," to learn how green their life is and simple steps to become more environmental.
• Mobile Broadband: Customers can use Verizon Wireless' Mobile Broadband service to create a mobile office anywhere, including their home, to save on gas and other commuting costs.
• Trade-In Program: Allows customers from any wireless carrier to get value from their no-longer-used wireless devices and help the environment too. Customers simply submit their devices online for appraisal and receive a postage-paid envelope to mail in the devices. In exchange, customers may receive a Verizon Wireless gift card based on the make, model and condition of the device that can be used toward the purchase of phones and accessories or to pay Verizon Wireless bills. Devices that have no appraised value can still be returned for recycling.

To learn more about these efforts and what you can do to help our planet, go to "Green Initiatives" at www.verizonwireless.com under "About Us."

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 93 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 79,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, Nasdaq: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless