Dell Inc. Receives Keep America Beautiful Vision for America Award for its Corporate Commitment to Driving Lasting Impact in U.S. Communities

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Dec 05, 2014, 09:30 ET

STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Keep America Beautiful (KAB), the nation's leading nonprofit that builds and sustains vibrant communities, honored Michael Dell and Dell Inc. with the 2014 Vision for America Award on Thursday, Dec. 4, in New York City.

Michael Dell with Lucero Castaneda and Wendy Rodriguez, members of Keep Austin Beautiful Green Teens, during Keep America Beautiful's Vision for America Award Luncheon. (Photo by Kate Eisemann, Kate Eisemann Photography)

"While Dell has been a trailblazing technology company, it has also led in the realm of social and environmental sustainability, drawing a solid line from the company's sustainability initiatives to its business objectives," said Jennifer Jehn, president and CEO, Keep America Beautiful. "Keep America Beautiful applauds Dell for applying its heritage of entrepreneurship and innovation to its holistic approach to corporate citizenship."

Michael Dell, founder, chairman and CEO of Dell, attended the annual awards luncheon to personally accept the Vision for America Award.

"Thank you for this great honor," said Michael Dell. "I'm very pleased to accept it on behalf of the 100,000 Dell team members around the globe working hard every day to deliver for our customers, our planet and our communities."

Dell's "Powering the Possible" commitment – to put technology and expertise to work where it can do the most good in the world – created a launch point for Dell's 2020 Legacy of Good Plan, which outlines 21 ambitious social and sustainability goals to reach by 2020. The goals include making the company's product portfolio 80 percent more energy efficient; making its packaging 100 percent waste-free; using 50 million pounds of recycled-content plastics in its products; and volunteering 5 million cumulative hours in the communities Dell calls home.

Keep America Beautiful cited several specific corporate efforts that led to this national recognition:

All Dell products and solutions are designed with the environment in mind and without sacrificing performance or reliability. In FY14, Dell used more than 10 million pounds of post-consumer recycled plastics in its products.
Dell was the first company to offer free consumer recycling of its products, and the first to use certified closed-loop recycled plastics in its PCs. It is also leading the way in its use of alternative energy sources; 21 Dell facilities today buy 100 percent of their energy from renewables.
Dell is committed to minimizing the impact of its operations and those of its supply chain. In 2013, through more efficient fulfillment and increased purchases of renewable electricity, Dell reduced GHG emissions from facilities and logistics by 8 percent – it would take planting 1.9 million trees to absorb that much carbon.
Dell has also reduced the energy intensity of its product portfolio by 23.2 percent over the last two years. For example, customers who purchased products in FY14 can expect to spend $449 million less on electricity to power their products over their lifetime, compared to those purchased in 2012.
Dell has partnered with Goodwill in more than 2,000 locations across the US through the Dell Reconnect program, which has collected more than 374 million pounds of computer electronics for responsible recycling since 2004. When combined with its services for businesses, Dell has recycled more than 1 billion pounds since 2008, with a goal of 2 billion pounds by 2020.

In addition to the work it does supporting the environment, Dell also contributes money, expertise, technology solutions and time to supporting local communities. Keep Austin Beautiful's Green Teens Environmental Club is a great example of a Dell-sponsored program engaging local youth in environmental stewardship, education and instilling passion for community service. Since launching in 2005, the Green Teens program has expanded from three schools to six and serves 275 youths annually. Wendy Rodriguez and Lucero Castaneda, two outstanding Austin, Texas based Green Teens, attended the Vision for America event as Dell's guests.

As the company looks forward to the year ahead, it will focus on applying its sustainability innovations and experiences to the benefit of its customers – helping them achieve better outcomes and realize their dreams. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the good that comes from Dell technology is 10x what it takes to make and use it.

The prestigious Vision for America Award was presented at a luncheon before distinguished guests, including senior public officials and business leaders. In addition to paying tribute to the honoree, the luncheon raises funds for Keep America Beautiful.

Past recipients of the Vision for America Award, which was established in 1986, include PepsiCo, Nestlé Waters North America, UPS, Xerox, and most recently, Wrigley.

About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful is the nation's leading nonprofit that brings people together to build and sustain vibrant communities. With our national network of community-based affiliates, we work with millions of volunteers who take action in their communities to transform public spaces into beautiful places. Through our programs and public-private partnerships, we engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community's environment. For more information, visit kab.org, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or view us on YouTube.

About Dell
Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. Dell is committed to Powering the Possible by putting technology and expertise to work, where it can do the most good for people and the planet, making possible today what was impossible yesterday. For more information, visit www.dell.com/corporateresponsibility.

CONTACTS
Larry Kaufman / Carly Tatum / Jillian Fisher
Keep America Beautiful / Dell Inc. / PPR Worldwide for Dell Inc.
Tel: 203.659.3014 / 512.299.4959 / 530.604.6144
Email: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]
Websites: kab.org / dell.com