Global Security Leader Partners with MGM MIRAGE, ICF International and
Carbonfund.org on Innovative Corporate Event Environmental Footprint Study
and Carbon Offset
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McAfee,
Inc. (NYSE: MFE), today announced the results of "Greening Kickoff," an
innovative project to minimize, rigorously measure and offset the
environmental impact of a large corporate event in Las Vegas. The project,
which focused on McAfee's annual Sales Kickoff meeting as a pilot effort,
reduced non-air travel carbon emissions by 16% while offsetting the
remaining 1,865 metric tons of carbon emissions through support of
reforestation projects.
On behalf of McAfee, ICF International, a global leader on climate
change and sustainability, conducted a scientific measurement of the
environmental impact and carbon footprint of McAfee's four-day,
1,800-person event held in early 2008 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The
project, the first of its kind for McAfee, measured the environmental
savings from implementing green meeting strategies as well as the remaining
impact of the event. By offsetting the impact, McAfee has made its event
carbon neutral.
"Our commitment to sustainability means ensuring that we leave the
planet to our children and grandchildren in a healthy and clean state,"
said Dave DeWalt, McAfee's chief executive officer and president. "To live
up to that goal, we're looking throughout our business operations,
including corporate events such as this one, for innovative ways to reduce
or eliminate our environmental impact. Our employees, customers, partners
and others have spoken enthusiastically in support of green commitments,
and we are actively working together to make this commitment a reality."
In support of its environmental commitments, McAfee took steps to
"green" the event in advance. According to ICF International's measurement,
through a series of event planning decisions and participant education
efforts, McAfee reduced the event's carbon footprint by 16% of its total
non-air travel emissions. Specific CO2 emissions savings included:
* 25 metric tons saved by facilitating the sharing of rooms by
participants
* 3.2 metric tons and 56,357 gallons of water saved through participation
in the hotel's towel and sheet reuse program
* 0.5 metric tons saved by providing a shuttle for airport and event
transfers rather than travel by individual taxicabs
* 0.5 metric tons saved by eliminating bottled water and providing tap
water only
"Companies who are committed to sustainability and minimizing their
environmental footprint must first understand where their material impact
can be made," said Craig Ebert of ICF International. "For companies in the
knowledge economy, often that material impact is in their electricity use,
business travel and corporate events. We applaud McAfee for its industry
leadership in corporate sustainability by conducting this in-depth
measurement project, taking steps to reduce and offset the environmental
impact and being transparent in sharing the results with others for the
common good."
Among the overall findings of the formal measurement project of the
remaining environmental impact:
* The carbon footprint of the overall event was approximately 1,856 metric
tons of CO2, or 1.03 metric tons of CO2 per event attendee
* 90% of the event's carbon footprint resulted from air travel to and from
the event
* Excluding air travel, of the remaining 10% of the event's carbon
footprint, the breakdown was as follows: food (35%), hotel rooms (33%),
amenities (19%), facility use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) (5%), solid
waste (4%) and the event's conference center (3%)
"MGM Grand and the entire MGM MIRAGE family of resorts has a strong
commitment to sustainability, especially in the area of meetings and
conventions," said Cindy Ortega, senior vice president of Energy and
Environmental Services at MGM MIRAGE. "We were eager to work with McAfee
staff in their efforts to measure and reduce the impact of their event.
Their efforts dovetailed well with our ongoing program of identifying and
implementing new sustainable strategies at our facilities."
As a result of the study, McAfee has offset the 1,856 metric tons of
CO2 emissions in partnership with Carbonfund.org, a leading carbon
reduction and offset organization. McAfee has supported Carbonfund.org's
Tensas River Valley Reforestation Project, an 1,100 acre project to
sequester carbon dioxide while helping to restore native bottomland
hardwood species to Louisiana and protect 400 species of mammals, birds,
reptiles and fish.
"McAfee's Greening Kickoff initiative is a great example of our motto
at Carbonfund.org. McAfee adopted strategic methods to reduce energy
consumption, and then went a step further to take responsibility for its
remaining carbon footprint," said Eric Carlson, executive director of
Carbonfund.org. "By doing so, McAfee is sending an important message to its
employees and customers: future business models should take sustainability
into account. At Carbonfund.org, we're proud to help McAfee's green
initiatives by making this event carbon neutral."
This project was an initiative of the McAfee Green Program, which
incorporates efforts to minimize the environmental impact of the company's
most material areas: products and packaging, operations and supply chain.
In addition to expanding existing environmental initiatives, McAfee also
has created the McAfee Green Team, a cross-function internal team of
leaders responsible for creating and implementing McAfee's environmental
strategy globally. McAfee's corporate responsibility and sustainability
commitments recently were recognized with McAfee's addition to the
prestigious FTSE4Good US Index. More information about McAfee's corporate
responsibility program can be found online at:
http://www.mcafee.com/responsibility
About McAfee, Inc.
McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world's
largest dedicated security technology company. It delivers proactive and
proven solutions and services that secure systems and networks around the
world, allowing users to browse and shop the Web securely. With its
unmatched security expertise and commitment to innovation, McAfee empowers
home users, businesses, the public sector and service providers by enabling
them to comply with regulations, protect data, prevent disruptions,
identify vulnerabilities and continuously monitor and improve their
security. http://www.mcafee.com.
McAfee and/or other noted McAfee related products contained herein are
registered trademarks or trademarks of McAfee, Inc., and/or its affiliates
in the US and/or other countries. McAfee Red in connection with security is
distinctive of McAfee brand products. Any other non-McAfee related
products, registered and/or unregistered trademarks contained herein is
only by reference and are the sole property of their respective owners. (C)
2008 McAfee, Inc. All rights reserved.
SOURCE McAfee, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.mcafee.com
CONTACT:
Douglas Sabo of McAfee, Inc.,
+1-408-346-5272, Douglas_Sabo@McAfee.com; or Diana Williams of
Red Consultancy, +1-415-618-8812,
diana.williams@redconsultancy.com, for McAfee, Inc.
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