Verizon Business Volunteers 'Dig' Earth Day Activities

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Verizon Business employees in Dallas, Boston and Tulsa are volunteering in local projects in support of Earth Day on April 22.

"Through their volunteer efforts, Verizon Business employees around the country are joining their colleagues from other Verizon groups to express a strong commitment to their communities," said Bob Toohey, senior vice president of human resources at Verizon Business. "These volunteer activities, combined with the company's overall conservation efforts, reflect our commitment to operate in an environmentally responsible way. Verizon Business also helps other companies reduce their own carbon footprint globally through the communications and IT services we offer."

On Saturday (April 18) employees in the Dallas area will participate in two activities during a half-day volunteer project at the Trinity River Audubon Center's (TRAC) nature reserve. Adults and older youths will work on a variety of landscaping projects such as planting native grass seed, removing unwanted plants around the Great Egret Pond, and improving the TRAC's trail system.

As part of the TRAC program, Verizon Business employees with younger children also will participate in one of the self-guided nature lessons TRAC is developing. After completing the lesson, the parent and child will meet with a TRAC nature educator to suggest improvements to the lessons. These comments will be incorporated into the self-guided curriculum before the program is offered to the public.

In the Boston area, Verizon Business employees will participate in the 10th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup on April 25 by picking up trash near the Hatch Shell in the Esplanade. The Annual Earth Day Cleanup is organized by collaborative groups interested in environmental and river issues.

Earlier in April, Verizon Business employees in the Tulsa area were invited to participate in the Metropolitan Environmental Trust's (MET) Household Pollution Collection Event. This bi-annual event provides northeast Oklahoma residents the opportunity to properly dispose of items such as pesticides, automotive fluids, batteries, fluorescent light bulbs and pool chemicals, as well as unused or out of date prescription medications, to prevent environmental damage.

Verizon Business continues to reduce its own impact on the environment through a number of environmental policies that include outfitting Verizon Business buildings with more energy efficient light fixtures, promoting paper and aluminum recycling, installing motion sensors in unstaffed rooms, requiring housekeeping providers to use "green" cleaning materials, and encouraging landscaping companies to apply earth-friendly pesticides.

Going green isn't limited to Verizon Business' own business practices. The company offers its customers a number of ways to reduce the impact on the environment through communication services such as voice, video and Web conferencing; mobility solutions; and server virtualization and optimization - all of which help customers conserve natural resources. 

The company also offers its customers paperless billing options, which saves trees through reduced paper use. The company then plants a tree for each customer who opts for paperless business billing.

For more information about Verizon Business's environmental efforts, visit the company's Green Initiatives Web site.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with the world's most connected IP network to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securely connect today's extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees - enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment.  Many of the world's largest businesses and governments - including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions - rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com.

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