Investing in Homeboy Industries for a Sustainable Future

The need to develop a skilled workforce and sustainable economy have never been more critical. Employers competing in the innovation economy require workers with technical and specialized skills. At the same time, we face growing environmental challenges that require us all to play a role in protecting our natural resources and creating a more sustainable future.

Last week, AT&T was proud to help give boost to a program that is doing both – the Homeboy Industries Solar Panel Training program. Created under the leadership of Father Gregory Boyle, the program trains previously incarcerated or previously gang-affiliated men and women for jobs in solar panel installation and the growing renewable energy field. To date, the program has helped train and provide an on-ramp to a better life for more than 500 people.

Building on our company’s commitment to education and the environment, AT&T joined Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Father Gregory Boyle and many community leaders and supporters in making a $100,000 contribution, through AT&T Aspire, to the sustainable re-entry program. Our investment will help equip more than 100 trainees in the Homeboy program with the skills required for solar panel installation in 2016.

AT&T’s contribution to Homeboy Industries is one of many investments we have made in the organizations that are serving our communities and helping protect the environment. Last year alone, we contributed nearly $100,000 to The Nature Conservancy, the Fresno “Fab 5” and Nature Bridge to help protect our state’s water resources and inspire action to protect the natural world. 

But our commitment to sustainability includes much more than philanthropy. Through years of goal-setting, investment and strategic initiatives, AT&T is making progress in minimizing our own environmental impact. Here in California and across the country, we are working to efficiently manage our fleet, reduce our energy consumption, minimize waste and conserve water through a wide range of projects within our company. Most recently, we announced a new goal to accelerate technology’s role in reducing carbon emissions and committed to enable a carbon savings 10 times the footprint of our own operations by 2025.

When it comes to developing the workforce and protecting the environment we can all play a role. AT&T is proud to do our part – not only by skilling our own workforce and managing our own environmental impact – but by continuing to support organizations like Homeboy Industries, that are helping to create both a prosperous economy and a more sustainable world.