From intention to action: Report highlights gains for diversity, water conservation, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, data transparency, and more

DENVER, Nov. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN), today announced the release of its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, showcasing key social responsibility and environmental stewardship programs and initiatives. The full report is available online.

"This past year has been an amazing journey. I am proud of the great work highlighted in this report, which was made possible thanks to the commitment of our Lumen people," said Lumen President and CEO, Jeff Storey. "Our social responsibility and environmental stewardship are inherent in everything we do. Our purpose to further human progress through technology has never been more critical. While we have made great strides, Lumen strives to do more."

Report highlights include:

• Transforming farming into precision agriculture via digital technologies: Lumen's partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) enabled about 100,000 USDA employees across nearly 9,500 locations to connect and effectively manage farming, food and nutrition, forestry, and rural economic development services across the country.
• Helping 'reinvent the data center' as environmentally sustainable: By providing long-haul fiber convergence to the customer, Lumen enables them to move beyond just operating "cold storage" hosting facilities, to enabling low latency, CO2 negative, carbon credit generation data centers, that leverage the heat generated from their operation, to feed indoor farms that grow produce.
• Taking a multi-pronged, data-driven approach to increased Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): The year 2021 saw the creation of a Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee resulting in a record diversity cohort with Lumen hires comprising 47% women and >50% people of color.
• Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions: Lumen GHG targets set in 2019 led to a 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and an 11% reduction in Scope 3 compared to 2018 baselines.
• Conserving more water with efficiency projects and real estate consolidation: Compared to 2018 baselines, Lumen achieved 42 million gallons of reduced water usage.
• Making it easier to see how our data is collected, stored, used, and shared: Lumen is a company that sends and receives large amounts of information. With the launch of the online Trust Center in 2021, Lumen is improving transparency around privacy, data protection, security, and other issues.

Lumen's innovation efforts are focused on advancing sustainable human progress through the power of technology. Lumen's ESG strategy, titled Our Journey to Amazing Things, demonstrates its capacity for innovation while showing customers, suppliers, and partners how Lumen plans to make a positive impact on the world. The four core focus areas in this ESG strategy are unlocking sustainability through innovation, empowering people, protecting our planet, and building strong governance and transparency.

Lumen's commitment to sustainability promotes the financial health of its business, the quality of service it provides, and creates value for its employees, communities, customers, and investors.

2021 accolades include:

• Forbes Best Employer for Women
• Forbes America's Best Employer for Diversity
• Forbes World's Best Employer
• Top 50 Employer – Minority Engineer Magazine
• Top 50 Employers - STEM Workforce Diversity Magazine  
• Top 50 Employer – Woman Engineer Magazine
• NaVOBA Best Corporations for Veterans Business Enterprises
• Military Times Best for Vets Employers
• Disability Equality Index® Best Places to Work™
• Human Rights Campaign Foundation Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality
• WayUp #1 Top Internship Program Winner

Lumen's commitment to sustainability is reflected through ESG framework-aligned reporting, a focus on customer-first operational excellence and continuous improvement.  With this increased focus on sustainability, Lumen is aligning its brand value, messaging and focus with the direction of its customers and markets served by the company.

About Lumen Technologies and the People of Lumen: 
Lumen is guided by our belief that humanity is at its best when technology advances the way we live and work. With approximately 400,000 route fiber miles and serving customers in more than 60 countries, we deliver the fastest, most secure platform for applications and data to help businesses, government and communities deliver amazing experiences.

Learn more about the Lumen network, edge cloud, security, communication and collaboration solutions and our purpose to further human progress through technology at news.lumen.com/home, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, Twitter: @lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks in the United States.   

SOURCE Lumen Technologies