AT&T appointed Charlene Lake as its first chief sustainability officer. In this capacity, Lake will lead AT&T's efforts to achieve a wide range of specific, sustainable business objectives, working with the Public Policy Committee of the Board of Directors, the Chairman's office, and AT&T's executive management team to further integrate sustainable business practices across AT&T and its supply chain.
"Our appointment of a chief sustainability officer reflects our commitment to our long-term future and the communities where we live and work," said Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO.
AT&T noted a number of steps it has taken in the last 18 months to strengthen its commitment to sustainable business practices and operations, including:
- Establishing accountability with the AT&T Board of Directors. At the end of 2007, AT&T changed the charter of its Public Policy Committee of the Board of Directors to establish clear oversight in the area of citizenship and sustainability.
- Creating a cross-functional steering committee made up of senior executives and officers from across AT&T to better integrate sustainability into its business operations.
- Launching AT&T Aspire, a $100 million philanthropic program to help strengthen student success and workforce readiness and begin impacting the labor pool for all businesses.
- Making tangible commitments to environmental stewardship, such as an investment commitment of up to $565 million to deploy more than 15,000 fuel efficient vehicles over the next 10 years, as well as additional investments to support the use of wind and solar power for facilities in California and Texas, and energy-saving software for 310,000 desktop computers across domestic operations.
