In 2006, Edelman’s leadership is evaluating the adoption of short- and long-term policies and practices in the areas of energy, printing, and procurement. We have already begun the process of instituting environmentally sound purchasing policies. With the goal of activating these policies in the near future, Edelman has identified the following four broad environmental impact areas to initially focus on:

A.   Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions

i.  Office electricity consumption

ii.  Corporate travel including air travel, rental cars, taxis, trains, and hotel stays

i.   Paper and office supplies: Virgin and recycled paper consumption and the associated number of trees cut, energy and water consumed, and greenhouse gases emitted

ii.   Office furniture and materials: Virgin and recycled wood consumed, wood sourced from sustainable or non-sustainable managed forests, non-rapidly renewable wood types, volatile organic compound (VOC) emitting materials

iii.   Computer and electronics equipment: Energy requirements and low-power capabilities, toxic materials, recycled content

C.   Waste management

i.   Waste sent to landfills and incinerators: Leaching to water sources, air emissions, greenhouse gas emissions

D.   Indoor air quality

i.   Indoor ventilation: Air filtration and circulation

ii.   Materials: VOC-emitting materials, adhesives, sealants, and paints

1.   Set Geographic Priorities

As a service company, Edelman’s environmental impacts are closely linked to the location of its offices. Because more than half of the company’s environmental footprint is tied to United States operations, Edelman will focus its initial environmental goals and initiatives on United States and Western European operations. Once environmental policies and practices are successful in these areas, they will be adopted by other offices worldwide, as appropriate.

Adoption of many policies will depend on leases and existing contracts. Offices will be encouraged to work with their current landlords to adapt to the new policies, and Edelman leadership will call for and enforce these policies as new leases are signed.

The first implementation phase of the environmental policy will be to measure Edelman’s performance in each priority area and calculate the associated environmental impacts. The measured performance will be used as a benchmark against which to gauge the success of Edelman’s future environmental policies.

Edelman will carefully assess its current performance and determine which goals are realistic within both short- and long-term timeframes. Edelman also will establish and publicly report on the timeframe for implementation of its environmental goals.

Based on the goals set for each environmental priority area, policies need to be developed and implemented. Policies and measures to be considered for implementation will include:

A.   Energy and greenhouse gas emissions

i.   Include energy efficiency and green building criteria in office-leasing procedures

ii.   Install energy-efficient lighting

iii.   Install motion sensor lighting controls in all offices

iv.   Ensure that all office equipment has sleep mode enabled

v.   Consider using centralized power management software for computer equipment

vi.   Replace non-essential travel with video conferencing equipment

vii.   Request fuel-efficient rental cars

viii.   Give preference to hotels that are members of a green hotel association

ix.   Develop an agreement with a travel agency and rental car agency to track travel-related carbon emissions and purchase offsets

B.   Procurement

i.   Buy paper with at least 30% post-consumer recycled content where available

ii.   Require the purchase of Energy Star qualified equipment

iii.   Purchase EPEAT-certified computer equipment (emerging environmental rating for computer equipment)

iv.   Purchase office furniture with recycled content, or sustainable materials

C.   Waste disposal

i.   Work with building managers to make recycling available in all offices

ii.   Encourage employees to participate in recycling programs

iii.   Set double-sided printing as the default for copiers and printers wherever feasible

D.   Indoor air quality

i.   Establish minimum ventilation standards for offices

ii.   Require the use of low-VOC materials in new office furniture, carpeting, adhesives, paints, and sealants and other materials

5.   Track and Record Progress Against Benchmarks

Progress across all the priority areas will be tracked and communicated in future CR reports.