AT&T Sustainability Initiatives Reach Communities Across North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C., June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Environmental and social sustainability takes many forms at AT&T. The company invites interested parties to learn more about the company's community activities by engaging in its newly redesigned interactive website, People | Planet | Possibilities.

The site shares information through videos, social media and blogs. To complement these frequent updates, AT&T today released a condensed summary of key topics and accomplishments, including:

• Reached the halfway mark toward the goal of deploying 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) by 2018. AT&T has now deployed 8,230 alternative-fuel vehicles and reduced unleaded gasoline use by 4.6 million gallons in 2013.
• Contributed 5.3 million volunteer hours by employees and retirees.
• Increased veteran hiring by nearly five times, compared to 2012.
• Reached 95 percent of postpaid AT&T branded devices being rated as 3 or above out of a potential rating of 5, using the Eco-Rating system.
• Received more than 4 million pledges to never text while driving through the It Can Wait campaign.
• Invested $21.2 billion in IP (Internet Protocol) – enabled networks.

In North Carolina alone, the following was accomplished:

• 176 alternative fuel vehicles operated in North Carolina as of 2Q 2014.
• 88 energy efficiency projects in North Carolina in 2013 resulted in annualized savings of 8,025,701 kilowatt hours and the equivalent of removing 827 cars from the road annually.
• More than 218,000 hours of personal time given by AT&T employees and retirees in North Carolina to community outreach activities from 2009-2013.
• More than $10.1 million contributed by AT&T and its employees from 2009-2013 through giving programs in North Carolina.
• More than $780,000 invested in education in North Carolina through AT&T Aspire.
• 17,058 hours of mentoring provided by our employees to students in North Carolina through Aspire Mentoring Academy.

"As a company, and as employees, we are committed to helping our state to grow and her people to prosper," said Venessa Harrison, President of AT&T North Carolina. "Committing our time and resources, in addition to more than $1.6 billion invested by AT&T in our wired and wireless networks here from 2011-2013, makes North Carolina an even better to live and work."

"Our 2013 update shows how our employees, customers and like-minded organizations are addressing some of society's biggest challenges," said Charlene Lake, Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President, AT&T Public Affairs. "We invite others to join us on our sustainability journey by engaging on our People I Planet I Possibilities website."

The site invites consumers to comment, sign up for regular updates and follow key leaders from the AT&T sustainability team on Twitter. The hashtag #ATTimpact posts updates as well. Some of the highlights from 2013 include supplier engagement, energy and water efficiency and AT&T's education initiative, Aspire.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. T is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T |DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/aboutus or follow our news on @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.