In storm’s wake, JetBlue send its ‘Green’ initiative soaring

The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy put JetBlue’s “One Thing That’s Green” initiative into a whole new gear.

The 2013 campaign itself was laudable in its objectives and execution, but beyond that, the new push bolstered an ongoing effort by the airline to encourage conservation and ecological awareness.

It has also earned JetBlue top honors in PR Daily’s 2013 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards in the Best CSR Event category.

Here’s how the airline describes its efforts:

Directly after the storm, JetBlue coordinated several efforts to provide immediate assistance to New York’s tri-state area and encouraged customers to donate $820,000 for relief efforts to the American Red Cross with a match of $100,000 coming from the airline. Six months after Hurricane Sandy, many parts of the New York metropolitan area were still devastated. … To meet the need of both communities and New Yorkers, JetBlue dedicated the 2013 One Thing That’s Green campaign to supporting the revitalization of Highland Park … as it had been severely ravaged during the storm.

Overall, New York City lost more than 30,000 trees. For the Earth Day program (April 20, 2013), JetBlue partnered with MillionTreesNYC, New York Restoration Project, Clear Channel, and others to encourage volunteerism and help restore the devastated region.

The media coverage gathered by this was impressive by any measure. Results included:

• 28,819,964 national media impressions
• 585 volunteers from the New York tri-state area, culminating in 3,010 volunteers since the campaign’s inception
• 2,400 trees planted, culminating in 3,536 trees planted in New York since the campaign’s inception
• 1,814,637 total Twitter reach
• 128,448 total Facebook reach
• 43,536 visitors to the One Thing That’s Green microsite
• 5,000 photo submissions documenting individuals’ commitment to being “green”

We congratulate all those involved with orchestrating and publicizing the event. The planet thanks them, too.

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