Member Tech Company iContact Goes "Dumpster Diving"

Submitted By: Kara Schiltz, iContact Public Relations Manager

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – iContact Corp., a leading email marketing and social media marketing company and a certified B Corporation, today announced iGreen Week, a series of activities the company is holding this week to raise further awareness and support for good environmental practices. The highlight of the week will be a Dumpster Dive to be held this Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011. An employee “Dumpster Diving Team” will sort the trash during the morning, and iContact will host a short program from 11:45 a.m.– Noon for all employees and the community.

 

iContact collected trash from its employee base for an entire week at the company’s Morrisville, NC headquarters. During the Dumpster Dive, this trash will be spread out in the iContact parking lot and employees will sort the trash to identify items that could have been recycled. Representatives from the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources will be on hand to reinforce the importance of good recycling practices. Results from the Dumpster Dive, including an analysis of the percentage of recyclables thrown in the trash, will be released later this year. The Dumpster Dive will also be streamed live via a webcam and those interested in watching can view it here.

“iContact has adopted a triple-bottom-line approach to business, and being an environmentally responsible company is an important part of our mission,” said Matt Kopac, corporate responsibility manager, iContact. (Matt was also a recent panelists for CED's Direct Connections event on corporate responsibility). “We hope that the Dumpster Dive and other iGreen Week activities will educate iContact employees and the greater community on the need and opportunity for businesses and individuals to adopt better environmental practices. iContact is committed to reducing and mitigating our environmental footprint and we hope to spark other businesses to take a closer look at their environmental initiatives and policies.”

iGreen Week will also include the following:

• Green Derby: Members of iContact’s Environmental Changemakers group, an employee-based action team, will hold impromptu spot checks on departmental trash and recycling bins. They will grade each department on how well they are recycling, and the iContact department receiving the highest grade will be recognized for its efforts.
• Education Campaign: New educational materials and visual displays will be placed near all recycling bins and trash cans to inform employees about good recycling practices and how they can make an impact.
• Metering Systems: iContact will announce plans to install metering systems at its corporate headquarters to better gauge energy efficiency and determine ways to further reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

iContact was certified as a B Corporation in 2010 after completing a comprehensive B Impact Ratings Survey. B Corporations are a new type of company using the power of business to provide a public benefit. Last year, iContact reduced its year-on-year carbon footprint by 30 percent, and offset 51 percent of emissions in 2009. iContact has implemented several changes over the past two years to promote environmental sustainability including:

• Implementing a centralized waste and dual-stream recycling collection system, and purchasing a scale to measure landfill waste and recycling output
• Purchasing LED monitors for company use instead of LCD
• Procuring iContact-branded sporks and plates for all employees to replace throw-away utensils and plates
• Putting up an iContact carpool map and offering financial incentives to facilitate and encourage participation
• Adopting a stretch of highway near the iContact office

For more information, please visit iContact’s corporate responsibility page, and follow the iContact blog.

About iContact

Based in Raleigh, NC, iContact is a purpose-driven company that makes email marketing and social media marketing easy, so that small and midsized companies and causes can grow and succeed. More than one million users have signed up for an iContact account, and the company maintains B Corporation status, a certification awarded to companies meeting comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards. As part of its ongoing social mission, iContact applies the 4-1s Corporate Social Responsibility Model, donating 1 percent from each of its payroll, equity, product, and employee time to its local and global communities. Visit us online at iContact.com, on Twitter @iContact, at our LinkedIn Group, and at our Facebook page.

For media inquiries please, contact Kara Schiltz at 919-926-3543 or kschiltz@icontact.com.