Citi Plant-A-Tree Initiative Visits the Lower East Side

Employees from Citi visited the Riis Houses in the Lower East Side, New York City to plant trees in support of MillionTreesNYC and the company's Plant-A-Tree initiative. The location was chosen because it is in an area with low tree canopy and high asthma rates.

Trees in urban areas have several benefits including slowing global climate change by capturing carbon dioxide and improving air quality. It is estimated that New York City trees remove 42,000 tons of carbon dioxide and remove about 2,200 tons of air pollution per year. In addition there is growing evidence that trees help reduce air pollutants that can trigger asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Trees also improve property values. (source: milliontreesnyc.org )

In 2007, Citi launched its Plant-A-Tree initiative, a program that reduces customer dependence on paper by planting a tree for every customer that converts to paperless online statements. For cardmembers that enrolled in Paperless Statements during April and May 2008, the company planted one tree per enrolled account, up to 100,000 trees per month, through the Arbor Day Foundation.

Due to overwhelming customer participation, Citi's Plant-A-Tree program has resulted in more than 1.2 million trees planted to date. This latest eco-friendly initiative is part of the company's on-going effort to help build environmental awareness and deliver tangible benefits to customers who want to reduce their paper consumption.

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