6.25.2008 - 09:23am ET

(CSRwire) SAN FRANCISCO, June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute today announced that Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) Masonry Products is the first manufactured stone veneer maker to qualify for its GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified(R) and the even more stringent GREENGUARD Children & Schools(SM) product emission standards. The certifications are for the entire line of Cultured Stone(R) and ProStone(TM) veneer products. The qualifications showcase the company's continued commitment to sustainable industry leadership and stand alongside GREENGUARD certifications of a wide variety of Owens Corning insulation products, including faced and unfaced PINK fiberglass insulation batts and rolls, and Foamular(R) extruded polystyrene insulation.

"Acknowledgements from the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute give our customers third-party validation that our products continue to be on the cutting edge of green technology and meet the strictest guidelines for indoor air quality," said Chuck Stein, president, Owens Corning Masonry Products, LLC. "The continued growth in the green market -- as much as 30 percent despite the slump in the overall housing market -- has created opportunities for builders and contractors to set themselves apart. We're helping our customers meet this demand in a way that doesn't compromise the world we leave to the future."

GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified is a product certification program for low emitting interior building materials, furnishings, and finish systems. GREENGUARD Children & Schools is a product certification program for low emitting interior building materials, furnishings, and finish systems used in educational (daycare and K-12) environments. All GREENGUARD products have been tested for their chemical emissions performance and can be found in the GREENGUARD Product Guide(SM) at http://www.greenguard.org.

"The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute applauds Owens Corning on its continued commitment to furthering our mission of improving indoor air quality," said Dr. Marilyn Black, Founder and Advisory Board Member of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute. "Products such as Owens Corning's are certified by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute so that consumers can be assured that the products which they are buying are healthy for their indoor environments."

Owens Corning's corporate commitment to sustainability is also evidenced by recent advances in the design and manufacturing processes of the company's Cultured Stone(R) and ProStone(TM) brands:

• Reclaimed content: Incorporation of up to 10 percent fly ash (a by-product of the coal-fired energy industry) and up to 10 percent reground scrap concrete reduced landfill waste by 56 percent per ton of product produced during 2007.
  
• Recycled water: Implementation of a closed-loop system allowing water reuse during manufacturing lowered water consumption in North America from 2006-2007 by 42 percent per ton of product produced.

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