Verizon's Corporate Responsibility Report Shows How the Company's Technology and Employees Are Tackling the World's To-Do List

NEW YORK, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon's latest corporate responsibility report shows how the company's innovative broadband and wireless technologies are tackling pressing issues such as education, domestic violence prevention and sustainability.

Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg notes in an introductory letter that the report reflects Verizon's steady, concerted efforts to use technology to address some of society's most urgent issues.

"Communications technology really does solve problems for people and for society," Seidenberg's letter states. "Our consistent and disciplined approach keeps us focused on results, holds us accountable for meeting our commitments and assures that our actions live up to our words.

"We have built a solid foundation for creating value that will generate expanding returns for our communities as well as our customers. The more deeply embedded technology becomes in our society, the more these opportunities to create shared success will grow."

Articles in the corporate responsibility report, the company's seventh, highlight several key focus areas for Verizon, including:

• Domestic Violence Prevention – The Verizon Foundation funded "Telling Amy's Story," a gripping documentary about a young mother of two who was shot and killed by her abusive husband. The documentary has aired on more than 330 public television stations and has been used as a training tool by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice.
• Education – Thinkfinity.org, an interactive educational platform that offers thousands of engaging materials for teachers, parents and students. Thinkfinity.org also includes online and in-person training to help teachers make the most of the free resources and the Thinkfinity Community, an online spot where teachers, parents and administrators can discuss issues of the day, ask questions and collaborate.
• Empowering Employees – Verizon invested $297 million last year in the development, education and training of employees.  The company also partnered with its health care provider to reach out to more than 81,000 female employees and their family members to highlight racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer screenings and outcomes to encourage early detection.
• Environment – Developed a new "carbon intensity metric" to measure carbon efficiency, enabling the company, for the first time, to accurately quantify the impact of all of its green initiatives. Verizon also committed to reporting carbon efficiency each year, with a goal of increasing efficiency by an additional 15 percent in 2011. And the company deployed an additional 1,642 alternative fuel vehicles, bringing the total to more than 1,900.
• Health Care – Introduced the Verizon Medical Data Exchange, a platform that enables health care providers to securely exchange digitized clinical documentation, and began issuing 2.3 million free medical identity credentials to health care practitioners to accelerate the sharing of electronic health data.  Verizon also demonstrated a telemedicine system that utilizes 4G wireless to provide remote health care.  The new platform connects with blood pressure monitors, EKGs and other medical devices, allowing doctors to remotely view data while holding a high-definition videoconference with the patient.
• Philanthropy – Since 2004, the Verizon Foundation has awarded nearly $490 million to nonprofits to assist communities in which Verizon employees live and work. In 2010, the foundation awarded nearly $67 million in grants to nonprofit agencies with a primary focus on education and domestic violence prevention. Verizon employees contributed more than 730,000 volunteer hours to nonprofits last year.

A copy of the 2010/2011 Verizon Corporate Responsibility Report and more information about the company's commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen are available at http://www.verizon.com/responsibility.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: 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, with more than 104 million total connections nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 196,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon