11.09.2007 - 09:45am ET

(CSRwire) MADISON, WI - November 9, 2007 - International textile and chemical manufacturer Milliken & Company, a founding member of U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is donating more than 25 million pounds of carbon dioxide credits (11,364 metric tons) to offset all the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with the annual Greenbuild conference November 6-9 in Chicago. This donation is equivalent to offsetting the annual carbon dioxide emissions of more than 27 million miles of passenger car driving.

"It is outstanding that Milliken has made a major donation of offset for the third consecutive year," said Michael Arny, founder and president of the Leonardo Academy. "This donation provides the sustainability community with an opportunity to learn that the maintenance of sequestration in existing forests is just as important as creating sequestration by planting new forests."

The non-profit Leonardo Academy's Cleaner and Greener(R) program calculates all types of emissions caused by energy use for Greenbuild including participant travel to and from the event, hotel rooms and meals. The Leonardo Academy then determines the total amount of emissions from the event and the amount of carbon reduction credits and other emission reductions necessary to balance or offset the event's emissions.

Trees tell Milliken's stewardship story. Milliken forests sequester millions of pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The headquarters campus in Spartanburg, S.C. is a nationally acclaimed arboretum, dedicated to cultivating and sharing information about noble trees for future generations. Milliken nurtures millions of trees in the southeast and New England, in addition to partnerships with national, state and local organizations concerned with the Earth. Its Trees For All initiative provides increased awareness and tree planting incentives to the supply chain.

Milliken is a pilot participant in The Draft American National Standard for Trial Use LEO-500-2001 which covers Emissions Inventories, Offsets and Reduction Credits. Milliken followed this standard in documenting the emission sequestration credits earned by its forests for this donation.

Milliken & Company (www.sustainablecarpet.com) champions sustainable principles and practices internally and in partnership with others. Together with USGBC, the company annually recognizes the achievements of local USGBC organizations around the country by presenting the annual Chapter Awards during Member Day at the conference.

Cleaner and Greener(R) (www.cleanerandgreener.org) is a program of Leonardo Academy, a charitable nonprofit dedicated to advancing sustainability and putting the competitive market to work on improving the environment.

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