AT&T leverages network to tackle causes customers care about
AT&T is using its network to enable customers to take action on a number of social issues, from carbon emissions to high school dropout rates, as part of its Connect to Good initiatives.
Originally debuted in March 2012, AT&T used an application layered atop Facebook’s social graph as part of a Connect to Good initiative. Whenever users would share news pertinent to specific causes they care about, AT&T would make donations to nonprofits dedicated to those causes.
As part of the original pilot campaign, AT&T focused on three projects: the dangers of texting and driving, the importance of recycling cell phones and the decline of high school dropout rates. What made the initiative different is users were not called on to make donations. Instead, whenever a user made an online pledge to not text and drive, AT&T would make a donation to a nonprofit like National Organizations for Youth Safety.
Among its more recent Good to Connect initiatives, AT&T’s Aspire mentoring program began collaborating with online mentoring groups, including iCould Be, iMentor and We Teach Science, in an effort to mobilize education. Students can be tutored by mentors online, or receive feedback on how to achieve their career goals. The company reports it has connected 260,000-plus students with employees face-to-face.
In addition, AT&T’s Connect to Good initiatives have played a role in leveraging IoT devices to provide insight and potentially improve the ecological footprint of cities. Last year, for instance, the service provider collaborated with the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Climate Corps program to host a research fellow who helped calculate the extent to which smart city technologies can reduce environmental costs. The research fellow is currently working to help them achieve its 10x goal. By 2025, AT&T aims to reduce customer carbon emissions that are 10x greater than carbon emissions generated by AT&T operations.
A longer term Connect to Good initiative is focused on working with stakeholders to increase the number of Americans with college degrees by 60% by 2025. In addition, AT&T said it will work with other companies in the industry to create and advance sustainability metrics to reduce the environmental and social impact of supply chains.
