PEARL RIVER – A program launched by Orange and Rockland Utilities, which is designed to encourage greater customer participation in the company’s electronic billing program, has resulted in the planting of over 5,600 trees in U.S. national forests damaged by fire.

O&R’s no-charge eBill service provides customers with a secure means of paying their bills online.

Through an agreement with the National Arbor Day Foundation, O&R has arranged to donate $1 to the organization for every new customer enrollment in the company’s program. That $1 pays to plant one tree. Since April 2007, when the program began, O&R has enrolled 5,633 customers into the program, and donated $5,633 for tree planting.

“This program provides a direct environmental benefit by planting new trees in these fire-scarred forests: they prevent erosion, enrich the air, and provide wildlife habitats for an array of species,” said O&R Public Affairs Director Tom Brizzolara. “The program also provides indirect environmental benefits such as cutting back on tree harvesting by reducing paper use, curtailing the generation of waste paper during the transaction and reducing automobile emissions by eliminating that trip to the post office to buy stamps and to mail the payment.” 

Average user rating

   (0 vote)