Minister of Environment Jim Prentice joined Dorothy Dobbie, Chair of Tree Canada, Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada, and Josef Pach, TELUS director of Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility, on Parliament Hill Wednesday, June 3 to recognize TELUS' contribution to the greening of Canadian communities, a contribution which has given over 218,000 trees to Canadian communities.
 
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 3, 2009) - Today, Tree Canada proudly received a donation from TELUS, on behalf of its customers and team members who opted for electronic billing or returned a mobile phone for recycling, thereby bringing the number of trees planted over their six-year partnership to more than 218,000.
 
"Canadian Environment Week is an opportunity to focus on our impact on our environment, our communities and the quality of life that we treasure here in Canada. That's the reason why I'm pleased to recognize the incredible work of Tree Canada and companies like TELUS, whose partnerships have been greening cities and communities across the country for many years," said Minister of Environment **>Jim Prentice<**, who attended today's cheque presentation with Michael Rosen, president of Tree Canada, and Josef Pach, TELUS director of Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility, on Parliament Hill.
 
Trees play a vital role in improving our lives. A mature tree provides enough oxygen for four people every day; filters carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air; lifts 378 litres of water from the ground; and conserves energy around buildings and homes by reducing heating and cooling costs by up to 25 per cent.
 
"We're grateful to TELUS for truly practicing their "we give where we live"
philosophy. Their continued commitment to Tree Canada will ensure a greener future for Canadians," said Dorothy Dobbie, Chair of Tree Canada.
 
Tree Canada and TELUS projects have included: planting trees in Toronto's Downsview Park, the Sudbury Reclamation Project and the Oak Ridges Moraine in Ontario; beautifying streets in downtown Rimouski, Quebec; regenerating abandoned mining sites in Nova Scotia, and restoring forests affected by wildfires and windstorms in British Columbia, including Stanley Park in Vancouver.
 
As part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility, TELUS operates several programs which support Tree Canada and reduce paper production and
waste:
 
- e.bill - a tree is planted for every client who opts for online billing instead of paper bills;
 
- mobile phone, battery and accessory recycling - a tree is planted for every device brought in to be recycled, regardless of provider;
 
- electronic copies of the TELUS' annual report - a tree is planted for every shareholder who requests an electronic copy of the annual report in lieu of a printed copy;
 
- customer perks - customers can choose a gift or to have trees planted on their behalf as a part of the company's perk program; and
 
- team member recognition - employees can select to have a tree planted in their honour for career milestones.
 
"Our clients and team members helped us divert more than 86,000 phones from landfills last year and save 17 million sheets of paper. We are excited to see that conserving resources, a fundamental value here at TELUS, is also near and dear to the people and communities we serve," said Josef Pach, TELUS director of Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility. "For TELUS, corporate social responsibility isn't simply a catchphrase - it is part of who we are."
 
TELUS has been recognized several times for its environmental stewardship, including being the only telecommunications firm in North America named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and for eight consecutive years; twice being named by Corporate Knights as Canada's most environmentally friendly company; and placing amongst the Global Top 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the world this year.
 
For information on all of TELUS' environmental initiatives, visit telus.com/socialresponsibility.
 
About Tree Canada
 
Tree Canada is a not-for-profit charitable organization established to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in urban and rural environments. A winner of the Canadian Environmental Award (2007), Tree Canada engages Canadian companies, government agencies and individuals to support the planting of trees, the greening of schoolyards, and other efforts to sensitize Canadians to the benefits of planting and maintaining trees. To date, more than76 million trees have been planted, more than 450 schoolyards have been greened, and Tree Canada has organized 8 national urban forest conferences.

More information about Tree Canada is available at www.treecanada.ca.