MILWAUKEE, April 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup, (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, continues to evolve green practices that sustain Earth Day's emphasis on transforming small actions to reduce carbon emissions into sustainable best practices — within the workplace and in personal lives.

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"Earth Day has historically inspired green policies on construction, utilities usage and transportation -- as well as the simple daily practices that employers and employees worldwide must take into their own hands if we are to create a healthier planet," said ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeffrey A. Joerres. "As today's workforce demands transparency, ethics and sustainable innovation from employers in the Human Age, ManpowerGroup continues to implement green initiatives that enforce our environmental performance, policies and reputation."

Earth Day was started by Wisconsin U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1969. Founded over 60 years ago in Milwaukee, and the home of ManpowerGroup world headquarters, the company's green initiatives are global and both internal and external — strongly reflecting the 2011 Earth Day initiative, "A Billion Acts of Green." Key ManpowerGroup properties, located around the world, are optimized to save on energy costs and promote campaigns for collectively recycling roughly 1 million pounds of paper and plastic products annually.  

ManpowerGroup's world headquarters building in Milwaukee is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified for its green construction techniques and as all of its building materials, right down to the office chairs for containing low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to improve indoor air quality. Recycling more than 22,000 lbs. (9,979 kg) of glass, aluminum and plastic bottles is the practice. Also, by using low-flow water fixtures in bathrooms, this office reduced water consumption by 41 percent. With recent upgrades to its heating and ventilation systems, the same building has saved $25,000 in energy costs since January.

Regional Green Champions assess the use of computers, lighting, paper, heating, cooling and more for Green@Work, an initiative that reduces the global carbon footprint of Right Management, ManpowerGroup's talent and career management expert. The team tracks and improves 21 different environmental practices in nearly 200 offices worldwide — generating more than 4,000 green actions each day.

ManpowerGroup UK has reduced CO2 emissions for company cars, which already operate below the national average for emissions.

To reduce the environmental impact of travel, ManpowerGroup France has more than doubled the use of videoconferencing and webinars in recent years.  

ManpowerGroup Norway offers electric cars for external meetings, and each vehicle is driven 3,106 miles annually, reducing air pollution in greater Oslo. This office also partners with an organization to donate used electronic equipment to students in developing nations and consolidated its servers into a single unit that supports a virtual network, cutting energy costs in half.

These are just a few select highlights of the environmentally-friendly activities that take place throughout ManpowerGroup to build more sustainable communities. In 2010, ManpowerGroup was named to Newsweek's list of "The Greenest Companies in America."

About ManpowerGroup™

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $19 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined — because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj

SOURCE ManpowerGroup