4.08.2003 ET

(CSRwire) Bethesda, MD - A shareholder group led by Calvert Group, Ltd. and the As You Sow Foundation announced that an initiative to encourage major computer companies to develop world-wide computer recycling and product recovery goals has taken a major leap forward. Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is the first U.S. computer company to commit to setting global performance goals and developing a system of measurement for success of its global product recycling program. The company has committed to complete these goals by March 2004.

Last year, Calvert was among several socially responsible investors who filed shareholder resolutions with six computer companies asking them to begin planning for recycling and take-back. According to Julie Frieder, environment analyst for Calvert “This year, we are pushing for action rather than words. Words are easy, the real proof is if we begin to see change.”

Building on this effort, a coalition of socially responsible investors including Calvert, As You Sow, Green Century Capital Management, and Walden Asset Management intends to seek similar commitments from others in the industry including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM. “Dell’s commitment is an important first step in addressing electronic equipment waste, and one that we encourage other computer makers to follow,” said Ken Scott, portfolio manager at Walden Asset Management.

The Dell commitment includes:

· Establish and report quantitative recycling goals for desktop and portable equipment by March 2004.

· Establish a system to track and publicly disclose what happens to Dell computer components when they are taken back by Dell, managed as waste (e.g., land filled, reused, incinerated, etc.), or recycled by Dell’s recycling vendors.

· Continue to verify that its recycling vendors adhere to the no-export clause, prohibiting the export of waste to developing countries.

· Publicly reaffirm that Dell’s U.S. recycling vendors are complying with health and safety standards equivalent to U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.

· Study and implement a plan that takes advantage of Dell's unique and successful direct sales model to boost the effectiveness in product recycling programs.

According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, people in the U.S. will discard 500 million computers between 1997-2007, and currently only about 10% of old computers are recycled. Recent reports have called into question the adequacy and safety of existing recycling programs, further highlighting the need for greater disclosure. A report released by the Basel Action Network and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition in 2002 found that many old computers and components are dumped into developing countries.

Halting this growing and global problem of electronic waste requires immediate action on the part of all companies and greater awareness on the part of consumers and investors. “We are cautiously optimistic that this agreement will result in significantly higher levels of old computers returned to original equipment makers,” said Conrad MacKerron, director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program at As You Sow. “It is crucial that old computers be returned via recycling streams where they can be tracked and properly disposed.”

About As You Sow

As You Sow is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility. It represents shareholders in engaging publicly held companies to adopt more progressive social and environmental policies. It engages in dialogue with companies, files shareholder resolutions, builds coalitions, and conducts shareholder solicitations to raise awareness and promote more responsible corporate practices.

About Calvert

Best known for its family of socially responsible mutual funds, Calvert manages $8.8 billion in assets under management among twenty-nine funds. Calvert launched the Calvert Social Indexä, a benchmark for measuring the performance of large, U.S.-based socially responsible companies. For more information on Calvert, click on www.calvert.com.

Calvert mutual funds are underwritten and distributed by Calvert Distributors Inc., member NASD, a subsidiary of Calvert Group. (4/03, 4329)

For more information please contact: