4.21.2008 - 02:08pm ET

Nortel CEO Says Green Focus Equals Good Business

(CSRwire) PASADENA, CALIFORNIA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/21/08 -- It is imperative that businesses quickly recognize the need for environmentally sound behaviors and good business practices to co-exist, Nortel(1) (TSX: NT)(NYSE: NT) President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Zafirovski said today at FORTUNE's first-ever Brainstorm: GREEN Conference(2) in Pasadena, Calif.

"The integration of environmental responsibility into corporate business models is not only the right thing to do but a necessity for business success," Zafirovski said. "As a businessman, my perspective always starts with a mandate to enhance shareholder value. But even with this as my focus, I strongly believe the time is right for business and society to get together to address today's environmental problems."

"Nortel and its partners are leveraging innovation to deliver solutions that can provide tangible benefits to the environment, reduce energy consumption and provide real business benefits to our customers," Zafirovski said. "It's the right thing to do for the planet and for the business."

Nortel products and services make it possible for enterprises and service providers to be more energy efficient while reducing their carbon footprint. This includes elements of Nortel's data portfolio, recognized by The Tolly Group(2) as the industry's greenest, which can help reduce energy consumption by as much as 50 percent.

In addition, Nortel's services-powered Telepresence Solutions can reduce unnecessary carbon emissions by minimizing the need for business travel. Other green solutions include software tools like Nortel's Energy Efficiency and Telepresence Return on Investment (ROI) Calculators, which demonstrate how IT professionals can reduce network energy consumption.

To increase the dialogue regarding support for the environment, Nortel is the platinum sponsor of FORTUNE Brainstorm: Green. This two-day, invitation-only event brings together business, government and environmental leaders from across North America to discuss the business impacts of the green movement and the challenges facing FORTUNE 500 companies striving to be more environmentally friendly.

The agenda(2) for FORTUNE Brainstorm: GREEN includes Global Dialogues between participants in Pasadena and four other locations around the world. Each will be facilitated by a Nortel services-powered Telepresence Solution combining standards-based, high-definition (HD) video and audio systems from Polycom(2) with proactive monitoring and testing, real-time 24x7 support and full concierge services from Nortel. This will provide a practical demonstration of how life-size, face-to-face, multi-location meetings can help reduce the time, cost and environmental impact of travel.

Global Dialogue topics and sites will include: Updates from the Developing World (New Delhi, India); Greening the IT Industry (Raleigh, N.C.); Global Perspectives on Energy Policy (Paris, France); and Sustainable Tourism (Frankfurt, Germany).

As a further call-to-action, Nortel is a premier section sponsor of The Sustainable Enterprise Report: Turning Awareness into Action(2), a collection of white papers and interviews with industry leaders to be published by Kyoto Planet(2) on Tuesday, April 22 in conjunction with Earth Day(2). Kyoto Planet is an eco-conscious company designed to leverage technology and communications to enhance environmental sustainability.

Nortel's strong track record of environmental responsibility includes three consecutive years in the Dow Jones Sustainability North American Index(2), which tracks financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies. Nortel is listed in the Jantzi Social Index(2), a benchmark of the most socially responsible companies in Canada based on environmental, social and governance criteria. Nortel is also a member of The Climate Group(2), which is investigating how the carbon impact of information and communications technologies can be reduced.

About Nortel

Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel's technologies are designed to help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.

Certain statements in this press release may contain words such as "could", "expects", "may", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "targets", "envisions", "seeks" and other similar language and are considered forward-looking statements or information under applicable securities legislation. These statements are based on Nortel's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies and markets in which Nortel operates. These statements are subject to important assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and the actual outcome may be materially different from those contemplated in forward-looking statements. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see Nortel's Annual Report on Form10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other securities filings with the SEC. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Nortel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

(1)Nortel, the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel Networks. Polycom is a trademark of Polycom, Inc.

(2)This is a 3rd party link as described in our Web linking practices.

Use of the terms "partner" and "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership between Nortel and any other party.

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