Through the Korea Green Foundation, students are taught environmental awareness as they participate in the Climate Change Classroom.
Courtesy of Korea Green Foundation
Recognizing the interdependence between our business and our communities, we believe that working with nonprofits and other key community stakeholders to promote environmental preservation is key to our role as a global corporate citizen. In fact, the environment is one of Boeing's five strategic community investment areas. In 2008, Boeing made cash contributions of approximately $5.7 million to community-based programs that inspire environmental citizenship and educate citizens to minimize their impact on the environment; reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase recycling and energy efficiency; and protect and restore critical natural assets and habitats.
Last year, our environmental preservation efforts included grants to:
- TreePeople, one of California's largest independent environmental organizations, to launch the California Wildfire ReLeaf Initiative and begin the reforestation process in areas devastated by wildfires. With a $1 million grant from Boeing, TreePeople will expand partnerships with public agencies that manage land impacted by wildfires to realize logistical efficiencies, such as equipment storage and transportation and water and seedling procurement.
- The Chicago Field Museum's Environment, Culture and Conservation (ECCo) team, which engages communities to protect the natural environment, builds links with neighboring communities and increases their understanding of issues that affect their environment and quality of life. Boeing's support for ECCo will help conserve and sustain landscapes in some of the most diverse and threatened habitats on earth. An example includes the Andes-Amazon project, which will increase protected areas in South America by three-to-four million acres in a north-south corridor in the Amazon and along intact swaths of vegetation from lowlands to mountain crests in the Andes. The experience will then be parlayed into strategies that will impact land and people close to home.
- The Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC), one of Washington State's largest conservation organizations, to help lay the foundation for a 100-year regional vision that will ensure the Puget Sound area remains a desirable place to work, live and visit. Called The Cascade Agenda, the plan brings together key stakeholders, including elected officials, scientists, business leaders, loggers, farmers, timber companies, students and private citizens, to find and implement creative solutions to the region's greatest challenges. Boeing is heavily invested in the region, and has long supported CLC and its projects.
- The Conservation Action Trust, which Boeing has supported for the past two years. The Trust is restoring the habitat of Thane Creek in Mumbai, India, by establishing two Mangrove Wetland Centers along the creek in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. The Centers, which are designed to have the smallest possible ecological footprint, will be the first of their kind in India and are intended to protect mangroves by building a better understanding of their importance in preserving coastlines throughout Mumbai and the world.
- The Korea Green Foundation, the largest environmental nongovernmental organization in Korea, to support the Climate Change Classroom. The Classroom engages youths aged 11–13 in becoming more responsible and environmentally aware global citizens. Over a three-month period, students participate in a multifaceted learning experience involving lectures, movies, outdoor activities and field trips.
- The "Natural..mente scuola: educazione ambientale e tecnologia," in Italy, a program created to bring young people closer to environmental protection issues and technological innovation. The program involves 590 classes from 37 secondary schools in the Italian province of Taranto. Its goal is to increase children's awareness of the importance of protecting the environment.
- The Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center, based at the Mercer Slough Nature Park, a 320-acre wetland in the heart of urban Bellevue, Washington. The Center will reach the next generation of scientists and stewards, serving as many as 40,000 students, teachers and family members annually. Boasting diverse plant life and animals, Mercer Slough is an ideal place for hands-on environmental study.
- Seeds of Discovery: Botanic Gardens Conservation International, which stems from the global coordination of a singular goal—storing the seeds of endangered plants and working with local institutions to plant some of those seeds in order to preserve the species. It's a plan that is engineered by one body, but carried out by dozens and dozens of local partners. This grant also provides Boeing employees an opportunity to participate. Since the company has employees all over the globe, our employees can partner with their local botanic gardens to aid in the care of these endangered species.
These nonprofits and the many more like them that we support each year underscore our clear strategy to take action as a responsible corporate citizen and neighbor.