Verizon Employees at Westbury, N.Y., Garage Lead the Way on Fuel Conservation

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Verizon technicians at the company garage at 15 Merchants Concourse in Westbury on Long Island have become a very stingy group when it comes to fuel consumption.

Verizon Local Manager John Shields and his group of 26 field technicians have been recognized by the company for making the deepest cuts in vehicle fuel consumption among Verizon groups in the Northeast.  For the past year, from April 2008 through this month, Shields and his group of technicians reduced their vehicles' idling time by 473 hours.

"It's just a matter of managing our resources and taking some simple steps," said Shields.  "Our group committed to being more conscious of saving fuel and to shutting off our vehicles whenever it was possible.  It's really the right thing to do."

Shields and his work group are responsible for installing and maintaining Verizon's services - FiOS Internet and TV, broadband and standard telephone - in the Westbury and north Nassau County area. 

The Westbury group's efforts are part of a larger Verizonwide initiative of saving natural resources, eliminating millions of pounds of air pollution, and reducing expenses by spending less at the gasoline pump.  As part of the company's "idling initiative," technicians and field managers were encouraged to turn off the ignition whenever their vehicles were not in use.  Progress is tracked through the Global Positioning System units installed in the vehicles.

Through the companywide effort, employees have eliminated 40 million pounds of carbon emissions; removed the equivalent of 3,600 vehicles from the country's roads; reduced fuel consumption by 2 million gallons; and saved Verizon some $5.5 million.

On Long Island, Verizon also operates the largest fuel cell site of its kind in the nation. The company's Energy Star Award-winning facility in Garden City uses seven fuel cells capable of generating enough electrical power per hour to meet the energy needs of 400 single-family homes.

For more information on the company's environmental initiatives, visit http://newscenter2.verizon.com/kit/green-press-kit/. 

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 80 million customers nationwide.  Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 224,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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