Passing on Paper and Skipping the Bag: Empowering Consumers Through Everyday Changes

DALLAS, April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- From breaking cellphone recycling records to launching an eco-rating system for AT&T branded devices, AT&T is working with its customers to be more sustainable. As part of this commitment and just in time for Earth Day, AT&T* announced two new campaigns to further engage consumers around sustainability initiatives.

Paperless Billing

The first campaign teams AT&T with the Arbor Day Foundation to incent AT&T customers to sign up for paperless billing. Through this campaign, AT&T will plant a tree for every customer who signs up for paperless billing, up to 50,000 trees.

Trees will be planted in five regions of the country in urgent need of replanting: the Klamath National Forest in California, Pensacola Florida's Blackwater River State Forest, the seedling grounds of Michigan's endangered Kirtland's warbler, the coastal plains of North Carolina and the Lost Pines Forest in Texas. Since the start of AT&T's relationship with the Arbor Day Foundation in 2005, AT&T and its customers have planted over 1.1 million trees – enough to offset the emissions of 2,501 cars in one year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.

Skip the Bag

The second campaign, which is run on AT&T's Causes.com community, Connect For Good, builds off of the success of the Skip the Bag program in Northern California where customers earned 10 cent donations for The Nature Conservancy by opting to skip a bag at AT&T mobility retail stores. Through the new Connect For Good campaign, community members can generate a donation to The Nature Conservancy, up to $25,000, by testing their knowledge about plastic bag waste in America or by sharing the campaign with friends.

Since AT&T launched Connect For Good in late 2011, the community has generated $421,000 in donations to worthy philanthropic organizations through personal actions taken by 210,248 members of the community.

"We understand that our consumers lead busy lives and are looking for simple ways to live more sustainably," said Roman Smith, Director, AT&T Sustainability Operations. "For Earth Day – and throughout the year – we look for easy but impactful ways to engage with our consumers about sustainability initiatives and empower them to change their own behavior. These two campaigns are great examples of that."

AT&T is committed to engaging customers around sustainability. Recently, the company:

• Was named as America's Best Corporate Citizen by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. AT&T was also included in the 2012 Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index.
• Unveiled a device trade-in recycling program that helps consumers save their old phones from landfills while also having the choice to make a donation to a charity or earn AT&T credit for future purchases at an AT&T store. This program currently runs both in-store and online.
• Launched its Eco-Rating system, a consumer-friendly and easy-to-understand rating system that serves as a way for consumers to make more informed choices by allowing them to better understand important sustainability attributes of AT&T-branded mobile devices.
• AT&T is committed to integrating sustainable business practices across its business. Visit www.att.com/csr to learn more about sustainability at AT&T and to view AT&T's interactive 2011 Sustainability Report.

For more information regarding the paperless billing/Arbor Day Foundation campaign, please visit: www.att.com/arborday

For more information regarding the Connect For Good campaign and to follow progress, please visit www.causes.com/att

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile broadband and emerging 4G capabilities, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse^® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.