HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced that the company’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact are being honored with a Connecticut Climate Change Leadership Award by the state of Connecticut. The largest of eight organizations to be so honored this year, Aetna will host the awards presentation ceremony at its Farmington Avenue, Hartford headquarters on May 12.

“As a health care company, Aetna is dedicated to helping people achieve health and financial security, and we believe fostering a healthy environment is an important part of this mission,” said Ronald A. Williams, Aetna chairman and chief executive officer. “We are committed to limiting our environmental impact by reducing our energy consumption and the use of other resources, and to identifying emerging environmental issues that we can help address because we recognize the impact of a clean environment on the health of our members.”

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell noted, “The Governor’s Steering Committee on Climate Change is pleased to honor Aetna among this impressive slate of award winners, and we thank Aetna for hosting this year’s ceremony. The winning individuals and organizations demonstrate, once again, that we have leaders at every level of our society who play a crucial role in advancing Connecticut’s effectiveness in addressing global climate change.”

To celebrate this award, and to raise awareness about the need to limit our collective environmental impact, Aetna will light the cupola of its headquarters green from sundown to sunrise for two weeks, starting today. A banner celebrating the award will also be hung on Aetna’s parking garage adjacent to I-84.

Aetna is a participant in the Business Roundtable's "Climate Resolve" initiative and was a charter member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise program, which seeks waste reductions through a combination of prevention and recycling. Specific initiatives Aetna has undertaken include:

• Aetna's Atrium Building in Hartford is going green with the installation later this spring of roughly 1,000 solar panels on the roof and along the south-facing elevation. Also, Aetna will be seeking prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its top-to-bottom renovation of the Atrium building, which is employing a wide array of sustainable building practices.
• Aetna has already earned Silver LEED certification for its new Customer Center in the headquarters building. The Silver rating recognized the Aetna Customer Center for its management of energy, lighting, water and building materials, as well as for incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies such as eco-friendly cleaning practices.
• Recycled/reused 30,000 tons of concrete, steel, equipment, and asphalt through the environmentally responsible demolition of an old parking garage.
• Began the renovation of its cafeteria to include energy efficient kitchen equipment and the use of washable dinnerware and flatware.
• Aetna’s teleworkers are reducing Aetna’s carbon footprint by saving more than 65 million miles of driving per year, which saves more than 2 million gallons of gas and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by over 23,000 metric tons per year.
• The Clean Air Campaign® presented the 2008 PACE Spotlight Award to Aetna for its highly successful telework effort, noting our high participation rate in the Atlanta area.
• Aetna has recycled fluorescent light bulbs since 1994, long before it was required.
• At Aetna-owned facilities, we recycle paper, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles -- recycling an estimated 191 tons per month.
• Aetna’s Enterprise Content Management initiative is achieving an estimated 10 percent reduction in the use of paper annually, saving $50 million in 2006.
• Aetna uses EnergyStar devices and automatic shut-off switches to minimize power consumption.
• Aetna is a signatory to the Business Roundtable’s “Climate RESOLVE” initiative to manage greenhouse gas emissions. See Aetna’s Sustainability video at: http://www.aetna.com/about/aetna/cr/video_brtsustainability.html
• The EPA recognized Aetna in 2006 as one of the “Best Workplaces for Commuters from the Fortune 500 Companies” – helping to reduce vehicular pollution.

About the Connecticut Climate Change Leadership Awards Program

The Climate Change Leadership Awards Program is an annual program. For more information, see www.ctclimatechange.com. This site also provides success stories of additional climate change actions throughout Connecticut and provides tips on what individuals, businesses, towns, and others can do to address climate change. For further information, contact Lynn Stoddard, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 860-424-3236 or c4info@ctclimatechange.com

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com and Aetna's Annual Report at www.aetna.com/2008annualreport.