None The Nature Conservancy in Ohio Press Releases Search All Press Releases Randall Edwards Phone: (614) 717-2770 ext. 130 E-mail: redwards@tnc.org

Exel Celebrates Earth Day 2008 with Westerville City Parks Clean-up effort and Launches Associate Environmental Program with a $10,000 Donation to The Nature Conservancy 

Portion of donation will be used to plant trees as part of the restoration of the headwaters of Big Darby Creek National Scenic River

WESTERVILLE, OHIO — April 22, 2008 — Exel, the North American leader in supply chain management and a Deutsche Post World Net company, marked Earth Day 2008 by partnering with the city of Westerville to clean up and beautify community parks. Approximately 60 Exel associates mulched trees and cleaned up trash in park areas surrounding Westerville Heritage Park and the Community Center Wetlands throughout the day. The City of Westerville also planted four trees donated by Exel.

During the event, Exel launched its new getGREEN Environmental Incentive Program, which is aimed at educating, rewarding and recognizing the company’s associates throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America who make environmentally friendly choices in their personal lives. The program provides financial incentives from $50 to $500 linked to specific environmentally friendly actions that associates choose to take.

As part of this Incentive Program and to further support carbon-neutral behavior, Exel also announced a matching funds component to benefit The Nature Conservancy. A leading conservation organization, The Nature Conservancy works around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. For every five (5) associates participating in the Incentive Program, Exel will donate $500 to the organization’s “Plant a Billion Trees” campaign. Each $500 contribution will provide the funding to plant 500 trees in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. According to The Nature Conservancy, the average American emits 27 tons of carbon dioxide per year through transportation, heating and cooling homes and other activities. While not a solution for climate change or a remedy for daily behaviors, these programs can help mitigate emissions by planting trees that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Exel commenced the Incentive Program by donating $10,000 The Nature Conservancy to support the organization’s Carbon Offsets project in the Tensas River Basin in Louisiana and a floodplain forest restoration in Ohio. The Louisiana project is the first offering in The Nature Conservancy's voluntary carbon offset program, and is focused on reforesting thousands of acres of floodplain forests that have been cleared and converted for agriculture. By reforesting these private lands, the Conservancy will protect land and restore critical habitat that will store forest carbon. According to Conservancy climate change experts, the carbon captured on 47 acres of the Tensas River Basin Project is predicted to store 14,300 short tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the first 70 years. In Ohio, the donation will be used to plant trees as part of the restoration of the headwaters of Big Darby Creek National Scenic River.

“Exel's $10,000 donation is an example of how individuals and companies can act to reduce greenhouse gasses and re-establish important wildlife habitats in the United States and the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. We are honored to partner with Exel and their associates,” said Denise Franz King, the Conservancy's director of government relations.

Exel has increased its focus on environmental sustainability companywide, as well as near its Americas headquarters in Westerville. Numerous programs and projects are under way to ensure that its operations and processes have environmental responsibility as a key component. “The Westerville Community Center and surrounding parks are tremendous assets for the people of Central Ohio, and we are happy to do our part to preserve and protect this area,” said Bill Meahl, CEO Exel Supply Chain Americas. “We chose to partner with The Nature Conservancy based on its global reach in the areas where our associates live and work and its programs aimed at reducing carbon footprints.” 

Westerville City Mayor Anne Gonzales stated, “As Mayor of Westerville, it is wonderful that Exel has taken steps to enhance our community park through its donation. We are fortunate to have Exel as a part of Westerville — it is companies like this that make our city an even better place to live, work and play.”

About Exel
Exel is the North American leader in contract logistics, providing customer-focused solutions to a wide range of industries including retail, consumer, technology, automotive, life sciences, chemical and industrial. Exel’s innovative supply chain solutions, skilled people and regional coverage, bring together all aspects of contract logistics in addition to a wide range of integrated, value-added and specialist services. Exel is a wholly owned entity of Deutsche Post World Net, the world’s leading logistics group. For more information, visit www.exel.com.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.