Energy Efficiency Measures Saved AT&T $44 Million In 2010

Telecommunications giant AT&T announced the results of its 2010 energy efficiency efforts today. According to the company's own report, it saw $44 million in annualized energy savings as a result of implementing 4,200 energy efficiency projects at its facilities last year. These included familiar technologies that, pervasively applied, made a big difference, like:

Swapping incandescent light bulbs with light emitting diodes (LEDs) at 1,100 cell sites Removing switches and upgrading networks at 11 offices, reducing the company's network-related power consumption by some 300,000 kilowatt hours Using desktop power management software on 169,000 computers

AT&T has done some form of environmental accounting (corporate social responsibility or CSR reports as they're referred to now) since at least 1995, so they have some cred. The timing of this green news, however, seems part of a strategic effort to win the public, and institutional investors' favor at a challenging time. The company has generated a mixed bag of headlines of late.

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