Sprint Expands Environmental Leadership with New Initiatives and Debut of Eco-Friendly Samsung Reclaim

August 06, 2009 08:00 AM US Eastern Timezone

Available for less than $50, Samsung Reclaim is the most full-featured eco-friendly phone in the U.S.; Purchases of Samsung Reclaim benefit The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sprint (NYSE:S) is making it easier than ever for customers to “go green” with new eco-friendly products, services and programs and expanding its commitment as a leader in sustainability. Available on Aug. 16, Sprint and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the #1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.¹, today announced Samsung Reclaim™ as the first phone in the U.S. constructed from eco-friendly bio-plastic materials. Made from 80 percent recyclable materials, Samsung Reclaim is a feature-rich messaging phone that offers environmentally conscious customers a perfect blend of responsibility without sacrificing the latest in network speeds and must-have features.

Reclaim is the most full-featured QWERTY phone launched by Sprint at less than $50. It will be available on August 16 in all Sprint retail channels, including Best Buy, Radio Shack, Web (www.sprint.com) and telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) for just $49.99 with a two-year service agreement after a $30 instant rebate and a $50 mail-in rebate (taxes and service charges excluded). It will be available at Wal-Mart in early September.

When customers purchase Samsung Reclaim from Sprint, $2 of the proceeds will benefit The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program, which supports land conservation across the United States and protects some of the world’s most beautiful and important natural habitats.

“This generous donation from Sprint will help us protect and restore some of America’s most beautiful and ecologically-important landscapes for future generations to enjoy,” said Mark Tercek, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. “We applaud Sprint’s sustainability efforts, as innovation and new technology are crucial to the future of conservation.”

Sprint is also launching several new environmental initiatives in an effort to support its aggressive long-term environmental goals:

Sprint is the first U.S. wireless carrier to establish a set of environmental design criteria for future devices and accessories.
Sprint is implementing a series of new environmentally-responsible retail initiatives including adding a dedicated display area in stores that highlights Sprint’s commitment to eco-friendly products and accessories.
Sprint is committing to reduce paper usage by 30 percent during the next five years.

“Sprint is widely recognized as a leader among telecommunications companies in environmentally-responsible initiatives, and today we are proud to announce an even stronger commitment to sustainability with new eco-friendly products and programs,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. “Samsung Reclaim enables customers to go green while getting the latest in wireless technology. When customers walk into a Sprint retail store, they will be greeted by the information they need to make earth-friendly wireless choices, coupled with Ready Now to learn about the rich functionality of this device.”

DEFINING GREEN WITH SAMSUNG RECLAIM
An eco-friendly overachiever, Samsung Reclaim from Sprint is designed with environmentally-responsible components and fully recyclable packaging, making it the perfect wireless phone for the eco-conscious consumer.

Its bio-plastic material, made from corn, makes up 40 percent of the Reclaim’s outer casing. Samsung Reclaim is free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR): three materials commonly targeted on green electronics guidelines.
The outer packaging and the phone tray inside the box are made from 70 percent recycled materials. The images and text on the box as well as the phone warranty information are printed with soy-based ink.
The typical thick paper user manual has been replaced with a virtual manual that users can access at www.sprint.com/reclaimsupport.
The charger is Energy Star approved for meeting the highest energy efficiency standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. It consumes 12 times less power than the Energy Star standard for standby power consumption and is equipped with a visible notification to alert the user to unplug the handset once it’s fully charged.

“Samsung Reclaim is more than just an eco-friendly device, it’s also a powerful and stylish phone that’s easy-to-use,” said Omar Khan, senior vice president of Strategy and Product Management for Samsung Mobile. “When you combine the Reclaim’s impressive feature set with its bio-plastic hardware and eco-friendly packaging, you’re using a phone that is good for you and the environment.”

Operating on America’s most dependable 3G network², Samsung Reclaim boasts One Click, Sprint’s award-winning customizable user interface with quick access to such social networks as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube. A new green One Click tile makes its debut on Reclaim providing the gateway to several green applications including:

Five Simple Steps from Discovery Channel provides five simple changes you can make to be more eco-friendly, from how you commute to what you eat for dinner;
Green Guides from Discovery Channel offers handy guides to help you green your lives with ease, and understand why;
Green Glossary from Discovery Channel provides words and explanations about the Earth and Climate Change; and
All Things Green, a Sprint Web category contains dynamic green headline and links to downloadable content.

Customers don’t have to sacrifice the latest in technology to be environmentally-friendly with Reclaim. The stylish, full-featured phone offers:

a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard making it easy to access personal or corporate email as well as text and multimedia messaging;
Sprint Navigation with Search, providing easy access to directory information and GPS-enabled directions;
2 megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom and camcorder;
advanced stereo Bluetooth^® 2.0;
expandable memory storage up to 32GB;
an integrated Web browser; and
two color options - Earth Green and Ocean Blue.

Sprint currently offers more eco-friendly accessories than any other U.S. telecommunications company. In May, Sprint announced the availability of new eco-friendly accessories, including the SOLIO Mono solar-powered charger and two new cell phone carrying cases made from 100 percent recycled plastic water bottles.

Sprint’s green-themed website, www.sprint.com/green, details Sprint’s green mobile applications and helps customers learn about Sprint’s sustainability initiatives, including online bill pay, wireless recycling programs and acquiring green tips, such as using mobile GPS to calculate the quickest route to save gas. Customers can receive Sprint updates on specific company-wide environmentally-responsible initiatives on Twitter via @SprintGreenNews and can visit www.sprint.com/green for additional green tips.

GREENING SPRINT RETAIL STORES AND PRODUCTS
Beginning in September, all Sprint-owned retail locations will feature a new dedicated environmentally-responsible section that highlights eco-friendly products and accessories such as the SOLIO Solar Charger and carrying cases made from recycled materials. Sprint also will implement a new sustainable design blueprint for all future Sprint-owned retail store builds and refurbishments.

New and refurbished stores will implement numerous sustainable design elements consistent with LEED design standards, and will include energy-efficient lighting, low water usage plumbing fixtures and low VOC paint and carpet. The roll out of these energy efficiency upgrades is expected to reduce the carbon footprint of each store by about 19,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents.

Sprint’s Environmental Product Design Criteria Vision Statement applies to all products sold in Sprint channels. Sprint will work with its device and accessory suppliers to design and provide products that:

Reduce the use of potentially hazardous materials,
Are energy efficient,
Include standardized audio and charging interfaces,
Are more recyclable, and
Have more sustainable packaging including standardized sizes, reduced weight, increased recyclability rate, and increased recycled content.

Sprint also will work with its suppliers to measure and report on the environmental impact of their manufacturing processes.

LEADING IN SUSTAINABILITY
Wireless Recycling

Sprint is the industry leader in the reuse and recycling of wireless devices sold. Sprint has an aggressive industry-first goal of reaching a 90 percent phone collection rate for reuse/recycling compared with annual wireless device sales by 2017.
Since 2001, Sprint wireless recycling programs have diverted more than 17 million cell phones from landfills for reuse or recycling. Sprint’s current collection rate is just under 35 percent, more than three times the national recycling average.
Sprint is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Plug-In To eCycling Program.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Efforts

Sprint has committed to reduce its GHG emissions by 15 percent by 2017 and to increase its use of renewable energy to 10 percent by 2017. In fall 2007, Sprint became the first wireless provider to join the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Climate Leaders Program.
Sprint is the only U.S.-based wireless telecom to have a published GHG reduction target. In 2008, just its first year of measurement and reporting, Sprint achieved a 6.8 percent reduction moving from 2.18M metric tons of GHG emissions to 2.03M metric tons.

Green Energy Use

Sprint is an industry leader in the purchase of green energy and is at the forefront of using renewable energy sources such as Hydrogen. Sprint ranks #20 on the EPA’s Green Power Partnership Fortune 500 list.
Wind power provides approximately 80 percent of the energy needed to run Sprint’s Overland Park, Kan. corporate headquarters.
Sprint recently received a $7.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand its use of Hydrogen fuel cells as backup power for cell sites. An industry leader, Sprint has deployed more than 250 Hydrogen fuel cell generators across its wireless network and has received 12 patents from the U.S. Patent Office that include Hydrogen fuel cells.

SAMSUNG’S CONTINUED COMMITMENT
Reclaim is Samsung’s latest contribution toward its commitment to the environment. Samsung Electronics Co. was recently named as the second highest rated company in Greenpeace International’s Guide to Greener Electronics scorecard. The research rates electronics manufacturers on reducing the climate impacts of products and operations, responsible recycling and take-back of unwanted electronics and the elimination of toxic materials from the products themselves.

Samsung recently adopted a new green management initiative with comprehensive goals intended to make Samsung a leading eco-friendly company by 2013. The “Eco-Management 2013” plan includes commitments to:

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions normalized by sales* from manufacturing facilities by 50 percent and cut total indirect greenhouse gas emissions from all products by 84 million tons,
Ensure 100 percent of Samsung’s products are eco-friendly and exceed global eco-mark standards, and
Invest $4.3 billion in various eco-management initiatives and enhance green partnerships with suppliers and partners.

Samsung’s Mobile Take-Back Program™ is part of the Samsung Recycling Direct^SM initiative. The Samsung Mobile Take-Back Program recycles end-of-life mobile devices by processing them to be reused as resources for manufacturers. The Samsung Mobile Take-Back Program is leading the effort to create a recycle-based society by distributing 100 percent recyclable mobile recycling envelopes made out of high density polyethylene. To find out more information on the Samsung Recycling Direct and Samsung Mobile Take-Back Program please visit, www.samsung.com/recyclingdirect.

Since June 2008, Samsung’s Customer Care Center has recycled 635 tons of cardboard, which has saved more than 10,700 trees, 38,000 pounds of air particles, 4.4 million gallons of water, 2.6 million kilowatts of electricity and 1905 cubic yards of landfill space.

BEST BUY JOINS IN GOING GREEN
Sprint's partner Best Buy and its Greener Together^TM initiative helps customers make smarter decisions about technology and energy use. Through Greener Together, Best Buy helps customers choose electronics and appliances wisely and use them more efficiently, plus find easy ways to recycle, reuse, or trade in products at the end of their life.

Best Buy recently began offering electronics recycling at all of its 1,036 stores nationwide including televisions, monitors, computer CPUs and notebooks, small electronics, VCRs, DVDs and more. The program is the latest addition to the electronics and appliance recycling options Best Buy offers to consumers nationwide including recycling kiosks, appliance and television haul-away, appliance and television pick-up and Tech Trade-In. Visit www.bestbuy.com/green for more information.

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 is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving almost 49 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2009; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The company’s customer-focused strategy has led to improved first call resolution and customer care satisfaction scores. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

About Samsung Telecommunications America
Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets and telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.samsungmobileusa.com.

About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 164,600 people in 179 offices across 61 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

1 Based upon reported shipment data from Strategy Analytics Q1 2009 U.S. Market Share Handset Shipments Report.

2 “Dependable” based on independent, third-party drive tests for 3G data connection success, session reliability and signal strength for the top 50 most populous markets from January 2008 to February 2009. Not all services available on 3G and coverage may default to separate network when 3G unavailable.

EDITOR’S NOTE:
VISIT WWW.SPRINT.COM/NEWSROOM or WWW.SPRINT.COM/PRESSKITS FOR MORE INFORMATION

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