JetBlue is Going Out On a Limb: Pledges to Plant More Than 80,000 Trees, One to Honor Each Customer Flying This Earth Day
NEW YORK, April 19, 2012 / 3BL Media / PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) is teaming up with long-time partner Carbonfund.org Foundation to plant one tree for every customer travelling on the airline on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, 2012. More than 83,000 customers are expected to take to the skies across JetBlue's 70 city-network on Sunday, and the new trees will be planted in locations in North and Northwest Haiti through August 2012. The trees will help to rebuild areas impacted by the devastating 2010 earthquake including the municipalities of Arcahaie, Cabaret, and Montrouis.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110404/NY76997LOGO)
Additionally, as part of the airline's fifth annual environmentally-conscious One Thing That's Green campaign, hundreds of volunteers alongside JetBlue crewmembers will celebrate Earth Day weekend and "Color NYC Green" by planting nearly 100 trees in JetBlue's new roots in Long Island City, including Queensbridge Park. New Yorkers interested in planting trees on April 21 are asked to register in advance at www.jetblue.com/trees. The day-long festivities, in partnership with the New York Restoration Project and MillionTreesNYC, will take place rain or shine.
"As the airline with a true interest and investment in the communities that we serve, we thought planting one tree for every customer flying with us on Sunday best demonstrates our commitment," said Icema Gibbs, director corporate social responsibility, JetBlue Airways. "One tree per customer and our call to action for people to do One Thing That's Green reinforces our belief that we can work together to make the world a better place, one company, one person, and one act at a time."
In New York alone, the airline's tree-planting efforts over the past four years have included more than 1,900 volunteers with more than 1,200 trees planted. Created by JetBlue to promote environmental awareness, the One Thing That's Green program represents the airline's commitment to green education and volunteerism.
Those unable to participate on-site in Queens can join the more than 125,000 people who have already committed to maintaining a greener lifestyle by making a pledge at http://www.jetblue.com/pledge. Now through April 30, 2012 participants pledging will also have a chance to win great prizes, including two roundtrip tickets and a $500 Getaways gift certificate every month for an entire year, eco-vacations, and eco-friendly appliances(a).
JetBlue believes in its social responsibility to reduce its impact, volunteer its services, and educate itself and others about how to create a cleaner, greener planet. The airline's partnership with Carbonfund.org Foundation allows customers to offset carbon dioxide emissions generated by individual air travel through the purchase of carbon offsets; to learn more visit carbonfund.org/jetblue. To set an example, JetBlue has purchased carbon offsets for all company business travel since 2008.
JetBlue brings environmental awareness to many areas of the airline's operation, including:
- Saving paper onboard by not offering an in-flight magazine and eliminating waste by encouraging customers to use their own headsets to enjoy the free in-flight entertainment
- Cleaning aircraft engines with an eco-wash process that saves up to one million gallons of fuel annually and eliminates carbon dioxide emissions by 21.9 pounds for every gallon of fuel saved
- Overwhelmingly using one engine to taxi to and from runways
- Connecting aircraft to ground power at the gate rather than using the engines to power air conditioning
- Lighter and fewer A320 seats that trim 930 pounds off each aircraft delivery since 2008
- Recently selecting the Pratt & Whitney PurePower® PW1100G-JM engines to power its A320neo fleet, which will produce up to 15% in fuel savings per flight
JetBlue took an environmentally-friendly approach during the construction of its new roots at its corporate support center in Long Island City, adding to the Brewster Building's recognition by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as having achieved Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design for Existing Buildings (LEED EB) Silver certification, which designates operation of high performance buildings that are environmentally responsible.
About JetBlue Corporate Social Responsibility
JetBlue is committed to the cities it serves through support and alignment with not-for-profit organizations that focus on children, education, communities and the environment. Through a variety of programs and activities, JetBlue crewmembers are encouraged to help make an impact and inspire greatness in others while enriching the lives of individuals and communities across the airline's network. Through JetBlue's Community Connection Volunteer Program and other Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, JetBlue partners with a variety of philanthropic and community-focused organizations, including KaBOOM!, DoSomething.org, The American Cancer Society and their Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walks; First Book, a not-for-profit organization with the mission to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books; and PBS KIDS, where JetBlue partnered to createSoar with Reading – Let Your Imagination Take Flight, a literacy campaign to help raise readers. In addition, JetBlue has created a platform called Jetting to Green which encourages environmentally-friendly practices through education and volunteerism.
About JetBlue Airways
JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline™ with other focus cities in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Known for its award-winning service and free TV as much as its low fares, JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline (based on average fleet-wide seat pitch) as well as super-spacious Even More Space seats. JetBlue is also America's first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful and specific compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue's control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 70 cities with 750 daily flights and plans to launch service to Dallas/Fort Worth in May. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information call +1 800-538-2583 (TTY/TDD +1 800-336-5530) from the USA, or visit www.jetblue.com.
(a) No purchase necessary to enter or receive a prize. Sweepstakes begins at 12:00:01 a.m. EDT on March 27 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT on April 30, 2012. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years or older at the time entry. Void in Puerto Rico, outside the U.S. and where prohibited and restricted by law. See Official Rules for details.
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