Sprint Sustainability Efforts Named Top In Sector in U.S. by Two Leading Indexes

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Within the last 24 hours Sprint [NYSE:S], named No. 3 on Newsweek’s 2011 Green Rankings, received two prestigious recognitions for its industry-leading commitment to sustainability.

“It is an honor to be acknowledged for doing the right thing, especially when those acknowledgements come from two of the business world’s most respected indexes”

Sprint was named one of 53 top companies – and the top U.S. wireless carrier – on the 2012 Carbon Disclosure Project S&P 500 Climate Change Report 2012 for its leading carbon disclosure score. And for the second consecutive year, Sprint was named U.S. Sector Leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America, which recognizes the wireless carrier as a leader in sustainability among the top 20 percent of the 600 largest companies in North America.

A growing number of corporations submitted to both indexes – a testament to the fact that investors are increasingly interested in corporate responsibility as an integral part of overall business strategy.

“It is an honor to be acknowledged for doing the right thing, especially when those acknowledgements come from two of the business world’s most respected indexes,” said Bill White, Sprint senior vice president, corporate communications and corporate responsibility. “Mitigating the impacts the wireless industry has on the environment is a critical component to our business strategy and to our environmental commitment. There is long-term value for companies that understand the benefits of reducing their environmental impact and transparently reporting their progress using metrics that matter.”

Carbon Disclosure Project’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index, a key component of Carbon Disclosure Project’s annual S&P 500 report, highlights companies that have displayed a strong approach to information disclosure regarding climate change, internal data management and an understanding of climate change related issues affecting the company. The report noted that, while the Telecommunication Services sector overall ranked 5/10 in disclosure score improvement, Sprint’s score improved by 16 points over last year’s report, to 97 – the highest in the sector and just two points behind the top two overall performers, Microsoft and UPS.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an international, not-for-profit organization that represents 655 institutional investors with $78 trillion in assets. The organization provides the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information. The index, compiled by PwC on behalf of CDP, focused on greenhouse gas emissions, emissions reduction targets, and the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

Sprint is the first and only U.S. telecom company to publicly announce an absolute GHG emission reduction goal and recently reported a year-over-year reduction in absolute emissions of 3.25 percent. Sprint also measures its carbon efficiency based on metric tons of CO2-e per terabyte of data traversing its network. Using this metric, the carrier saw a 31 percent improvement in carbon intensity.

Last year, Sprint was named as one of only 28 companies in the world to be named into the World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers Program and was the first Climate Savers partner to address all scopes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through their agreement with WWF.

“Sprint’s leadership demonstrates the value of reducing greenhouse gas emissions beyond their own operations,” said Matt Banks, senior program officer at WWF. “It also proves that Climate Savers companies are leading the growing trend of businesses operating in a more efficient and climate friendly way. We applaud Sprint for this recognition and look forward to their leadership as science continues to enrich what business can deliver to curb the climate threat.”

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) – managed by Dow Jones Indexes and Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) – tracks the performance of the world’s leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. The DJSI follows a best-in-class approach, including companies across all industries that outperform their peers in numerous sustainability metrics. SAM invites the world’s 2,500 largest companies (by free-float market capitalization) to report on their sustainability performance, then provides an in-depth analysis with a special focus on industry-specific risks and opportunities. The DJSI has been identified as the most credible sustainability rating systems among 100 rating organizations surveyed by SustainAbility.

This year’s report named Sprint as the North America Mobile Telecommunications sector leader, awarding particularly high scores for the carrier’s work in areas including Governance, Climate Strategy and Supply Chain Management, and Environmental Reporting. Besides leading the North America sector overall, Sprint received the sector’s highest scores in the world for Corporate Governance and Human Capital Development.

Sprint continues to receive recognition for its commitment to corporate responsibility, sustainable innovation and business practices. This summer, Sprint was recognized by independent analyst firm Verdantix as a top U.S. wireless provider for corporate sustainability performance. The carrier was also named No. 13 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) Fortune^® 500 Green Power Partner list, and No. 25 on the National Top 50 list highlighting the largest green power purchasers.

Sprint has committed to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and increase its use of renewable energy sources for electricity. Sprint has a goal to secure 10 percent of its total electricity through renewable sources by 2017 and has already achieved 5 percent of its electricity through sources including wind, solar, hydrogen fuel cells and geothermal power.

Sprint’s groundbreaking Buyback Program – the first of its kind in the telecom industry and the only to integrate a trade-in option into the online retail experience – this summer was named the best buyback program in the wireless industry by Compass Intelligence¹. The program aims to collect nine phones for every 10 sold, and so far has saved the company $1 billion in cost avoidance, put $50 million back in consumers’ pockets, and diverted millions of phones from landfills.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 56 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers and most improved in customer satisfaction across all industries during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

1. Compass Intelligence July 2012 rankings based on program capabilities, user feedback, and expert analysis. Sprint had the highest composite score.