Citi Employee's 2013 Wireless Drop-off Campaign/Partnered with e-Cycle Donates to Three Charities

By Irene Blake, Coordinator of Citi's Wireless Drop-off Campaign

This year, Citi's annual Wireless Drop-off Campaign engaged a new partner recycler, e-Cycle, resulting in the most successful campaign to date! Citi continues to hold a drive each year to collect wireless devices employees no longer use. Devices are shipped to the recycler, appraised, and a portion of their value is then donated to charities selected by Citi. The drive is an important element of Citi's Sustainable Technology program, a commitment to responsible asset management through recycling and our desire for active involvement in the communities where we work and live.

Our US employees and Asset Management Team collected more than 7,000 devices, which were data-scrubbed and then recycled or disposed of under a zero-landfill policy. This proved to be a successful partnership with e-Cycle as we raised $63,175 which we then donated to three reputable charities; $25,000 to Wounded Warrior Project®; $25,000 to The Hunger Project and $13,175 to The Floating Hospital. The work done by these organizations is humbling and we are honored to support their missions.

Here are the Environmental Impact results from this campaign:

- prevented contamination of 282,680,000 gallons of water;

- prevented the release of 4.52 pounds of lead into environment;

- reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 0.20 cars off the road for a year;

- saved enough energy to power a laptop for 310,948 hours and provide 1.28 households with electricity for an entire year.

Now in its seventh year, Citi's "Wireless Drop-Off" is one of the ways we are working to promote environmental sustainability and social responsibility. To date, we have recycled more than 22,000 mobile devices through this program and donated $139,175 to various charitable organizations. The success of this program is due to the continued participation of the metro/regional site coordinators and employees. I look forward to next year; number eight being just as great!