April 21st 2010 - DIGICEL SUPPORTS HOST OF ‘GREEN’ INITIATIVES FOR EARTH DAY

Wednesday, April 21^st 2010 – Kingston, Jamaica: To commemorate Earth Day on April 22^nd, Digicel, Jamaica’s Bigger, Better Network, is supporting a host of ‘green’ initiatives for its employees and the general public to help raise awareness about the importance of protecting the environment we live in.

 

In partnership with the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica, Digicel is sponsoring the Earth Day Expo which takes place on Thursday from 10am – 4pm in Hope Gardens. Featured at the Expo will be a host of schools, businesses and government agencies who will be showcasing the various initiatives they have developed to help protect the environment.

 

During the Earth Day Expo, the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica will be launching the inaugural Digicel-sponsored Earth Day Poster Competition which is open to schools across Jamaica. Students between the ages of six and twelve are invited to create posters under the theme of ‘How can I help to save planet earth?’. The competition runs from April 22^nd until May 21^st.

 

The Digicel Foundation has also partnered with the Jamaica Environment Trust and its inaugural Environmental Challenge Awards to sponsor the Youth Environmental Leadership Award category which will award a student who has consistently led the way in conserving the environment in their school or community.

 

Digicel Jamaica CEO, Mark Linehan, said: “Digicel firmly believes that it has a responsibility as a good corporate citizen to help protect the environment we live and work in. By partnering with the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica and the Jamaica Environment Trust, we hope to raise awareness of all the different ways people can help protect the environment.”

 

“For some time now, Digicel has been at the forefront of green initiatives in Jamaica and in October 2009, we contracted an environmental consultant from Environmental Solutions Limited (ESL) who conducted an audit of all of our business activities to ensure that we are compliant with local regulations and making the very best and conservative use of our resources. The results of the audit enabled us to develop a comprehensive programme to turn the Digicel office into a ‘Green House’. A committee of 20 ‘Green Soldiers’ from across the business was formed to lead the initiative.”

 

Following an internal competition amongst employees to determine what the name of the campaign would be, ‘One Vision, One Earth’ was launched just over seven months ago and included the following initiatives:

 

-          A water filtration system to reduce the amount and cost of water bottles consumed throughout the company

-          A pin printing system for the entire printer network which reduces multiple printing of the same documents and the amount of paper used as it prints on both sides of the paper by default

-          Donating shredded paper to the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The shredded paper is used as bedding for sick and baby animals

-          Collecting plastic and aluminium waste in three types of containers – outdoor skips, drums and lunchroom bins – and partnering with One Jamaica Recycling, which pays JA$40 per bag of recycling collected which is subsequently donated to the Digicel Jamaica Foundation. To date, nearly 1,500 bags have been collected by One Jamaica Recycling

 

“Since launching ‘One Earth, One Vision’, we have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of materials that are being recycled on a monthly basis. Our employees have been very quick to get involved in this programme and, to celebrate Earth Day; each employee will be receiving a reusable burlap shopping bag that we are encouraging them to use at the supermarket instead of plastic bags.”

 

As the largest and first Digicel operation, Digicel Jamaica is piloting “One Earth, One Vision” with a view to rolling the programme out across Digicel’s 32 markets.

 

Digicel has also led the way in a number of other initiatives to protect the environment, including the introduction of bio degradable retail bags, solar-powered phones and a recycling collection point in Digicel stores for old mobile phones and batteries – funds raised from the recycling of these phones goes to the Jamaica Aids Support for Life, Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (JASL OVC).