NEW YORK – April 9, 2018 — JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) today announced its annual environment-focused campaign – “GreenUp” (formerly “One Thing That’s Green”). JetBlue is providing opportunities for its customers, crewmembers and community to donate, volunteer and engage with nonprofits working to preserve the environment. In celebration of Earth Month, JetBlue For Good, the airline’s platform for social impact and corporate responsibility, is coordinating a variety of environmentally-focused initiatives in its focus cities – New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Los Angeles (Long Beach). “GreenUp” also includes several events in San Juan and throughout Puerto Rico as part of JetBlue’s ongoing 100x35JetBlue hurricane recovery initiative.
JetBlue For Good focuses on the areas that are most important to the airline’s customers and crewmembers – community, youth/education and the environment. This year, JetBlue let its crewmembers nominate their favorite environmental causes and charities to receive grants. Customers can vote from the list of finalists to select four nonprofits to receive $60,000 in grants in 2019. The winning organizations will each receive a grant for $15,000 towards an environmental project. One winner will be selected in each category- wildlife, urban environment, climate change and conservation. Those who vote are also entered to win roundtrip flights, with carbon offsets, for two anywhere JetBlue flies. Customers can vote now through April 30 at jetblueforgood.com/GreenUp.
“Though our actions are year-round, Earth Month is a good reminder that it takes a community effort to preserve the natural resources we still have,” said Icema Gibbs, director of corporate social responsibility, JetBlue. “Environmental and social responsibility are important to our long-term success. As an airline and a business, we’re investing in innovative new technologies and processes that will lessen our CO2 footprint. In our personal lives, there are many small steps we can also take, like offsetting emissions from flying.”
In Puerto Rico – 100x35JetBlue:
As the largest airline in Puerto Rico, last year JetBlue made a commitment to assist in the island’s rebuilding and recovery efforts with its 100x35JetBlue initiative. Puerto Rico is home to nearly 500 JetBlue crewmembers who support the airline’s operations in its focus city of San Juan, as well as in Aguadilla and Ponce. The 100x35JetBlue recovery initiative launched shortly after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. A nod to the island’s dimensions, 100x35JetBlue outlined 100 days and 35 ways – and beyond – of caring for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Throughout April, JetBlue’s on island initiatives will include:
- A planting and gardening workshop for JetBlue crewmembers teaching skills including tree and garden planting and ongoing maintenance.
- Lettuce farm maintenance at a local farm in the Ciales municipality. This farm is currently producing only half of its usual production since Hurricane Maria.
- A tree nursery maintenance initiative with local nonprofit – Para la Naturaleza. After Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Para la Naturaleza has committed to the reforestation of Puerto Rico with the goal to plant one million trees over the next five years.
In The Community:
- Fort Lauderdale won last year’s vote for a new green space. The grant will go to Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale for a revitalization project in Sistrunk Park. Previous winning cities have included Austin, Texas, Long Beach, Calif. and Hartford, Conn. In addition, on April 21, JetBlue crewmembers, customers and community volunteers will take part in the North Project: Great America Cleanup at Spanish River Park in Boca Raton, Fla.
- As New York’s Hometown Airline®, JetBlue will help beautify greenspaces in its own backyard. On April 23, JetBlue volunteers will join together for a community garden build in Brooklyn in partnership with longtime partner GrowNYC. On April 27, JetBlue crewmembers will participate in a tree pit planting in collaboration with LIC Partnerships in Long Island City, NY, home to JetBlue’s New York City Support Center and where more than 1,350 crewmembers work.
- On April 28 in Boston, JetBlue customers and crewmembers will participate in the 19th Annual Earth Day Charles River CleanUp. This annual event brings together more than 3,000 volunteers each year to pick up litter and assist with park maintenance.
- On April 14 and 20, JetBlue will partner with the organization Green Up Orlando for a park clean-up and beatification activity.
- On April 7, JetBlue crewmembers volunteered at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach by assisting park staff and maintaining the grounds.
Onboard:
JetBlue partnered with The Ad Council and national community improvement nonprofit Keep America Beautiful, which is celebrating its 65th Anniversary in 2018, for the second year in a row to raise awareness of the benefits of recycling. JetBlue is donating space and running the “I Want to Be Recycled” Journey PSA onboard all flights for the month of April. For Keep America Beautiful Month (April), the three organizations have joined forces to share the campaign’s key message – when we recycle, we give garbage another life. Today, 73% of Americans have access to curbside recycling programs — making it more possible than ever to give new life to products. Even so, only about a third of the 1,600 pounds of garbage every American generates each year gets recycled or composted. For more information on the “I Want to Be Recycled” campaign, visit BeRecycled.org.
“GreenUp” – “GreenUp” highlights JetBlue’s commitment to environmentalism, conservation and the planet. JetBlue is leading by example with the announcement of one of the largest renewable jet fuel agreements in aviation history to purchase renewable jet fuel made from rapidly renewable, bio-based feedstocks. The airline is also making an investment in more fuel efficient practices and technologies and has provided carbon offsets totaling nearly two billion pounds of CO2e emissions. JetBlue also offers opportunities for its customers and crewmembers to offset GHG emissions when they fly.
To offset the CO2e emissions from your next flight visit carbonfund.org/partners/jetblue/. To find volunteer opportunities in your community, visit VolunteerMatch.org.
JetBlue For Good: Commitment to the Environment – JetBlue depends on natural resources and a healthy environment to keep its business running smoothly. Natural resources are essential for the airline to fly and tourism relies on having beautiful, natural and preserved destinations for customers to visit. The airline focuses on issues that have the potential to impact its business. Customers, crewmembers and community are key to JetBlue’s sustainability strategy. Demand from these groups for responsible service is one of the motivations behind changes that help reduce the airline’s environmental impact. For more on JetBlue’s conservation initiatives, visit jetblue.com/green.
Join the #JetBlueForGood conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, check for regular updates and get involved.
About JetBlue
JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 40 million customers a year to 101 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 1,000 daily flights. For more information please visit www.jetblue.com.
(a) NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59:59 PM ET on 4/30/18. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S./D.C. or PR who are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry and crewmembers of JetBlue Airways who are in good standing at the time entry and at the time of prize distribution. Void outside the 50 U.S./D.C., PR, and where prohibited by law. Total ARV of all prizes to be awarded: $6,918.40. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Subject to complete Official Rules available at https://www.jetblueforgood.com/GreenUp/OfficialRules.
About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Celebrating its 65th Anniversary in 2018, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision.
Behavior change – steeped in education, research and behavioral science – is the cornerstone of Keep America Beautiful. We empower generations of community and environmental stewards with volunteer programs, hands-on experiences, educational curricula, practical advice and other resources. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.