It's the theme heard 'round the world: going green.

And that's what Cavalier is doing, one step at a time.

Cavalier – a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) that provides high-speed Internet and phone service to residents and businesses – began a "green" theme in January, said Vanessa DeBrew, the creative producer for the company's Richmond location.

Cavalier began using direct mail envelopes that are produced with wind energy. The envelopes come from a company called Green-e. A Cavalier news release says the company is able to maintain its normal level of mail production while save more than 80 barrels of crude oil.

In addition to this, Cavalier is using 10 percent post-consumer recycled paper for direct mail.

"The climate is changing, landfills are quickly filling up and our national resources are being more endangered," Cavalier's direct response marketing manager Megan Hall said in a news release. "We have chosen to create the change on our own with the hope that others will follow suit in an effort to respect the environment we all live in."

Cavalier has developed an environmental motto that is printed on its mailings, which includes the following statement: "It's one step at a time, but we're placing our feet forward with the belief that every step counts."

The company, which has nearly 19,000 phone customers in Richmond, has also created a new logo that is included with outgoing mail: "Cavalier: Red, Black and GREEN." (The company's logo is red and black.)

In addition to its mail, employees of the company are strongly encouraged to recycle. Recycling bins have been placed throughout the company's Richmond headquarters.

"Cavalier has been participating in a variety of recycling efforts over the years, but not as a core movement within the company," said Sean Wainwright, director of Marketing and Sales (Consumer and Small Business). "As with anything new, it will take time to adopt best practices."

ABOUT CAVALIER
Cavalier was founded in 1998 and has operations in 16 states and Washington, D.C. Cavalier has more than $1 billion in fiber optic networking assets to offer phone, Internet and digital television to more than 650,000 business and residential customers. Cavalier's Richmond headquarters is at 2134 W. Laburnum Ave. Call 804-422-4100 or visit cavtel.com for more information.

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