A green winter in Finland

I live in a neighborhood in Finland with about 500 houses. Like most people, we consume a lot of electricity, especially during the dark Finnish winters.

We're taking steps to reduce our personal carbon footprints, with energy–efficient light bulbs, timers and more efficient appliances. But imagine the impact we could make if our energy supply came from a more environmentally friendly source.

At Tellabs facilities in Finland, we're making that vision real. More than 500 employees work in Finland, and we need quite a bit of electricity for our research and development labs. So, we saw a great opportunity to better the environment.

We switched to electricity produced by hydropower on January 1. This is renewable energy, as it naturally replenishes and does not emit carbon dioxide. We'll reduce our environmental impact, removing almost 2,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This is about the same amount of electricity that the 500 houses in my neighborhood consume each year.

By moving to hydropower in Finland, Tellabs' global carbon footprint will shrink by about 5%.

It's really amazing how a simple business decision can make a huge environmental impact. I'm extremely proud that we're “walking the talk.” To me, this demonstrates that Tellabs is committed to act in a more environmentally responsible way and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

At our Finland facility, its business as usual—just a little more green.