Five Years in a Row as a Green Company

I was thinking of language the other day and how it changes. English, for instance, is very adaptive and constantly adds words to its vocabulary. Nearly every day we find ourselves using new words or giving old words new meanings, from boom box to caller ID to voicemail. We often create new words, such as “microwave” and “texting,” in response to technological changes in our daily lives.

On the other hand, the word “green” when used to define a color normally associated with Nature, such as the color of growing leaves or grass, has been in common usage for a long, long time.

That’s one reason why when a company is called a “Green Company” most people know what the designation means: the company recycles a lot, reduces waste, chooses energy-efficient solutions and generally promotes resource conservation in a multitude of ways.

I’m pleased to announce that for the fifth year in a row, Consumer Cellular made the list of the top Green companies in the state of Oregon.

The “100 Best Green Workplaces” winners were determined by 16,000 employees from more than 400 companies and nonprofits that took part in two anonymous surveys, sponsored by award-winning Oregon Business Magazine.

We’re notably proud to be so often associated with the word “green.” But words alone will not help us, as a business or as individuals, reduce our carbon footprint. It takes action, on several fronts.

Here are just a few results of our eco-friendly efforts:

• We recycle 95% of our shipping by-products.
• We’ve recycled well over 33,000 phones.
• We’ve moved 88% of our customers to Email billing or Autopay, thus saving paper.
• We use energy-efficient, 90% recyclable computers.

In addition, we introduced the EcoSim card, which is half the size of a standard SIM card. We worked closely with the United States Postal Service to create a custom eco-friendly shipping box. And we make financial donations to the National Parks Conservation Association. The list goes on, as does our total commitment to conserve our planet’s resources.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our employees and our customers for helping us stay green. It’s a team effort and one we hope to continue recycling.