Verizon's Commitment to Corporate Responsibility Recognized by Corporate Responsibility Magazine

NEW YORK, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate Responsibility magazine has named Verizon to the publication's 100 Best Corporate Citizens List, for the third consecutive year.

Verizon is No. 27 on the 11th annual Best Corporate Citizens list, up from No. 32 in 2009. Verizon is the only telecommunications company on the list, which was announced Tuesday (March 2) at a news conference at the Cornell Club.

The magazine (formerly CRO magazine) compiled the list by using public information to evaluate the 1,000 companies in the Russell 1000 index of large-cap companies, ranking their performance in seven key areas: environment, climate change, human rights, employee relations, governance, philanthropy and finance.

Verizon's Commitment to the Environment and Corporate Responsibility Efforts

Verizon is committed to finding practical and innovative ways to increase energy efficiency and bolster conservation efforts. Overall, Verizon's carbon intensity is approximately nine times below the U.S. average, as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Verizon's rate of 64 metric tons of CO2 emissions per million dollars in revenue represents a year-over-year improvement of 3 percent.

Verizon operates the largest fuel cell site of its kind in the nation. Using seven fuel cells, the company's Energy Star Award-winning facility in Garden City, N.Y., can generate enough electrical power per hour to meet the energy needs of 400 single-family homes.

Other Verizon initiatives include:

• Creating an industry standard – Verizon was the first telecommunications company to require that the network equipment it purchases be 20 percent more energy efficient.
• Employees have reduced engine idling, which has cut fuel consumption by more than 2 million gallons (equivalent to taking some 3,400 cars off the road for a year).

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon awarded $67.5 million to nonprofits organizations in 2009, with an emphasis on organizations addressing the issues of education, domestic violence prevention and Internet Safety.

The Verizon Foundation's signature program is Verizon Thinkfinity, www.thinkfinity.org, a free educational Web site that provides tens of thousands of engaging educational resources for teachers, students, parents and after-school programs that make learning fun. Lesson plans, in-class activities and homework help can be found quickly and searched by grade level, keyword or subject.

In 2009, Verizon also issued the company's first human rights statement supporting the broad principles in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many of which can be applied to how global businesses can build good relationships around the world and work successfully among different customs and cultures.

To learn more about Verizon's corporate responsibility efforts, visit http://responsibility.verizon.com/. Photos of examples of Verizon's corporate responsibility efforts are available at http://verizon.mediaseed.tv.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 91 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of approximately 222,900 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon