AT&T announced that it is being added to the 2010 Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America, effective September 20. The index looks at corporate, economic, environmental and social performance, and tracks the performance of the top 20% of the 600 biggest North American companies in the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index in terms of sustainability.

The company says that announcement comes as AT&T continues to make progress on multiyear commitments for important environmental, education and volunteerism programs that help strengthen communities and stimulate economic growth.

AT&T has $565 million planned to invest in 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles through 2018. The company says its working to help find solutions to the U.S. high school dropout crisis through AT&T Aspire, which is a $100 million program aimed at improving high school retention rates. AT&T also says its employees and retirees contributed 8.5 million hours of time in their communities. 

"Our debut on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index signals our belief that a company’s long-term growth is linked to the soundness of its business practices and to the health of its employees, its community and its world," said Charlene Lake, senior vice president of public affairs and chief sustainability officer, AT&T. "We know our stakeholders have high expectations of AT&T as a corporate citizen. While we continue to learn and make progress on this journey, we take pride in being recognized for the steps we’ve taken."  

The full list of companies in on the index can be found here.