Behavior Change
AT&T and the Nature Conservancy Team Up to Help Oregon Customers ‘Skip the Bag’

AT&T has partnered with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to encourage AT&T customers to skip the bag when purchasing items from its retail stores in Oregon by donating 10 cents to the Nature Conservancy for each check out bag its customers choose to forego.

AT&T says its “Skip the Bag” campaign, which runs from now through January 31, 2014, is part of an effort to empower customers with sustainable choices, increase efficiency and minimize impact on the environment. The program is designed to support The Nature Conservancy's efforts to protect and restore the lands and waters on which all life depends.

The Nature Conservancy says it takes innovative action to invest in the planet's environmental and economic future, in places such as northeastern Oregon's Zumwalt Prairie.

Funds generated from AT&T donations will be used to support The Nature Conservancy's work. For example, TNC owns 33,000 acres within Zumwalt Prairie, one of the largest remaining grasslands of its type in the world. The organization says grasslands are the least protected habitat type in Oregon and around the world.

Spanning more than 400 square miles, Zumwalt Prairie's ocean of bunchgrass is home to hundreds of bird species, 50 different kinds of butterflies, and iconic animals like elk and gray wolves. The prairie also supports many local families who derive their livelihoods through ranching.

To help protect both people and wildlife, TNC says it demonstrates and shares practical land management strategies with neighbors.

"The Nature Conservancy is dedicated to finding ways for nature and people to thrive and to protecting the great places to live, work and play that make Oregon so special," said Russ Hoeflich, state director of The Nature Conservancy in Oregon. "We are excited to be part of AT&T's efforts to provide its customers with sustainable choices."

"As we work to make our own operations at AT&T more sustainable, we also want to empower our customers to live more sustainably," said George Granger, Oregon AT&T President. "The skip the bag initiative joins our other environmentally focused retail efforts, like our eco-devices and device recycling programs that help AT&T and our customers to minimize impacts on the environment, today and well into the future."

Throughout the duration of this campaign, customers will also have the opportunity to donate additional funds to TNC at AT&T stores in Oregon.

AT&T and The Nature Conservancy have simulatanouesly launched similar programs in several other states such as Hawaii, Colorado and Utah.

In June, TNC collaborated with The Dow Chemical Company, Shell, Swiss Re and Unilever to publish a white paper that argues for green infrastructure solutions to become part of the standard toolkit for modern engineers. Green infrastructure employs elements of natural systems, while traditional “gray infrastructure” is man-made. Examples of green infrastructure include creating oyster reefs for coastal protection, and reed beds that treat industrial wastewater.