Telefónica joins in with the celebration of the United Nations World Environment Day (WED). Today, stakeholders from more than 100 countries are promoting official initiatives with the aim of creating a platform to encourage greater awareness and promote environmental action.
With the slogan “Raise your voice, not the sea level”, the United Nations environment programme for 2014 focuses activity on caring for and protecting Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Tonga, Samoa and Suriname are being terribly affected by climate change, poor management of waste, unsustainable consumption, deterioration of natural resources, extreme natural disasters in over-populated areas and constant industrialisation.
The international initiatives to commemorate World Environment Day include: Cleaning campaigns, art exhibitions, tree-planting units, concerts, recycling campaigns, social media actions, etc. Notable events are the Green Week in Brussels (3-5 June) organised by the European Commission; the World Environment Day forum in Bosnia Herzegovina; an exhibition and round table on SIDS in Geneva; and the popular on-line photography competition in India called “Click, conserve, care”.
Telefónica is also part of this day and has been promoting initiatives for awareness and action, both in Spain and overseas, since it made its environmental commitment in 1996. More specifically, today Spain sees the “Telefónica! Be More Green” conference, in which the heads of different areas of action (Telefónica R+D, Wayra, Telefónica de España, Global Sustainability, etc.) will talk to their colleagues about Telefónica’s objectives and values in its relationship with the environment and the fields of application in its operations and its relations with its customers. This event can be followed on streaming by Telefónica employees.
In Nicaragua, Movistar will participate with its mobile phone recycling programme at the 13th National Earth Fair, which takes place on 5 and 6 June in Managua. Telefónica Peru launches its “Telefónica Environment Week” campaign, which seeks to make its co-workers more aware of how to care for the environment through the recycling of mobile phones. Telefónica Venezuela celebrates World Environment Day with a Recycling Conference organised by its Green Corner and will organise workshops for employees. Mexico and Argentina will also carry out specific communication campaigns on the importance of environmental responsibility.
Once again this year, we at Telefónica invite you to cooperate in this day through the Green ICTs which are within our reach:
• By recycling technological devices which we no longer use.
• By holding virtual meetings which avoid unnecessary trips and reduce fuel consumption.
• By automatically controlling the use of heating and air conditioning.
• By storing data in the cloud, instead of in physical formats.
• By using a universal charger for mobile devices.
If you want to keep abreast of how ICTs can slow down climate change and find out more about Telefónica initiatives, follow us on Twitter @TEF_Green.
Happy World Environment Day!