AIR MILES FOR SOCIAL CHANGE PARTNERS WITH COMPUGEN FINANCE

New partnership encourages Canadians to reduce waste by purchasing pre-owned computers

TORONTO, Dec. 6 /CNW/ - AIR MILES for Social Change, the world's largest national wellness and environmental incentive program, announced today an exclusive partnership with Compugen Finance Inc., a subsidiary of Canada's largest privately owned IT solutions and services provider, Compugen.  Starting today, Canadians will have an opportunity to earn up to 100 AIR MILES reward miles each time they choose to purchase pre-owned computer products online at www.green4good.ca, including notebooks, desktops, monitors, warranties and memory upgrades.  All top brand name computer products offered at deep discounts through Compugen Finance's Green4Good Program are refurbished decommissioned corporate IT assets, come equipped with certified operating systems, are delivered in new packaging and are offered with a 90 day warranty as well as an option to upgrade.  

"We are excited about this new partnership with the AIR MILES for Social Change program. It will offer Canadians the unique opportunity to not only help the environment through supporting the re-use of pre-owned computers but will also help charities benefit as well," says Steve Glover, Senior Vice President of Compugen Finance. "A portion from each sale will go to the World Wildlife Fund while providing great value to the customer".

With more than 140,000 tonnes of e-waste disposed of yearly in Canada¹, Compugen's Green4Good Program will help to make a positive impact of diverting e-waste into reusable and environmentally sound products for Canadians.

"Rewarding Canadians on the purchase of pre-owned computers that would have otherwise ended up in landfills demonstrates our genuine commitment and our unique ability to help make the world a better place," says Andreas Souvaliotis, Chief Impact Officer and General Manager of AIR MILES for Social Change.  "We are proud of the solid values alignment between our two organizations and are confident in our collective ability to help reduce unnecessary waste through smart, rich and targeted incentive rewards for all Canadians".

About the Green4Good Program
The Green4Good Program is an IT assets re-use initiative undertaken by Compugen Finance, the remarketing and leasing division of Compugen Inc. It consists of two complementary components: end-of-life IT Asset Disposition and Charitable Support. In terms of IT Asset Disposition, Green4Good is a comprehensive approach to the disposal of decommissioned corporate IT assets - desktops, notebooks, servers, printers, monitors, network components, etc. - that eliminates any negative environmental effects and allows organizations to leverage any residual value in those assets. Green4Good then turns the net gains from IT asset disposition into support - cash and/or new technology products/services - for their chosen charities.

The innovative Green4Good solution includes Re-Use and Recycling. These options can have significant positive impact on an organization's environmental footprint, while at the same time representing a possible source of revenue to be turned into charitable support. More information is available at www.green4good.ca

About AIR MILES for Social Change
AIR MILES for Social Change is the world's largest national wellness and environmental incentive program, operated as a social venture within the AIR MILES Reward Program.  More than 10 million Collectors, representing two thirds of all Canadian households, actively collect AIR MILES reward miles not only through their everyday shopping but also when they make more environmentally sustainable or healthier lifestyle choices like using public transit, conserving electricity or diverting waste.  In addition to the more than 1,200 leisure, entertainment, travel and merchandise loyalty rewards, AIR MILES for Social Change encourages Canadians to redeem their reward miles for a broad range of accredited environmental rewards from energy efficient electronics to transit passes and more. More information is available at www.airmiles.ca.

¹ Guy Crittenden, 2008

For further information: For further information:

Compugen
Steve Glover
[phone]
[e-mail]

AIR MILES Reward Program
[phone] - Media Relations
[e-mail]