6.11.2008 - 05:59pm ET

(CSRwire) HARTFORD, Conn., June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- United Technologies Corp (NYSE: UTX) will complement the company's $4.7 million Connecticut grant program with human capital: UTC employees. With total shareholder return over the past decade at 388 percent, UTC is loaning some of the skills behind its success to community non-profit organizations. Under UTC's new program, "Building Community Excellence," the company will match UTC employee expertise with the needs of non-profit organizations in Greater Hartford.

Company employees will work with non-profits on projects to increase the non-profits' efficiencies and performance in fields as diverse as public education, the arts, and development.

"We think we are in an excellent position to share some of our expertise with community organizations. Whether it is using technology in the most efficient manner, seeking to reduce water or electricity use, or streamlining processes to gain time, our employees can help community organizations be the best they can possibly be and sustain improving performance," said Andrea Doane, UTC Director Corporate Giving & Community Affairs.

UTC based the new program on its own operating system, Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE). ACE helps identify customer needs and significantly improve processes while eliminating waste.

"Building Community Excellence" will begin in Hartford, where UTC is headquartered. Launch projects include finance and strategic planning assistance as well as an energy audit for the Mark Twain House to allow the organization to stabilize operations; an energy audit for Hartford Stage to evaluate and contain energy costs; information technology improvements at Connecticut Public Television to enhance customer relations; and affordable green housing for the South Arsenal Neighborhood Development in Hartford's North End. United Technologies Research Center designed the homes to be "zero-net energy buildings," consuming no more energy than they produce.

Other pilot organizations will be The Connecticut Science Center, the Greater Hartford Marathon, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. UTC currently supports all of these non-profit organizations.

United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., USA, is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries. In 2007, UTC was named, for the 4th consecutive year, one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

For more information please contact: