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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
8.03.2005 ET
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Interface's Renewable Energy Purchases Fund Wind Farms And Solar Energy
(CSRwire) ATLANTA--For 10 years, Interface, Inc. and its subsidiaries have
been engaged in initiatives designed to lighten their company's
environmental footprint, including investments in renewable energy
certificates (RECs) that support high quality projects such as the
development of renewable energy resources in the Northwest and Plains
states. Interface Fabrics today announced its contributions to a green
power initiative that will fund new solar projects in the State of Maine,
while Interface Flooring Systems announces they have achieved 100 percent
renewable electricity for the production of all products in Troup County,
Ga.
"Interface has raised the bar within the commercial interiors industry
with renewable energy purchases, and it is important to note that we have
done so with the bigger picture in mind,"
said Mike Bertolucci, Ph.D., senior vice president, Interface, Inc. "We've
worked to ensure that all of our investments in renewable energy bring
growth to the green power marketplace.
As a charter member of the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Green Power
Market Development Group and the U.S. EPA's Green Power Partnership, we
have an obligation to help shape the future for green energy markets in
the U.S."
A summary of green power purchases by Interface business units
includes:
Interface Fabrics
In 2003, Interface Fabrics signed a five-year contract with Bonneville
Environmental Foundation (BEF) to purchase 12,500 MWh of Green-e certified
RECs (2,500 MWh/yr) from three wind farms in the U.S. This purchase offsets
the greenhouse gas environmental impacts of the electricity needed to
produce select patterns of Terratex® brand fabrics. A unique component of
that agreement involved the company's investment of an additional 50¢ per
MWh into the development of new renewable energy resources in Maine, where
most of the Terratex products are manufactured. Interface Fabrics' monetary
contribution is matched by an equal investment from BEF, resulting in the
accumulation of $12,500 designated to provide rebates for residential and
commercial energy customers in Maine who choose to install solar arrays on
their homes and offices. This supplemental rebate program is being
administered on behalf of Interface Fabrics and BEF by the Maine Energy
Investment Corporation in Brunswick,!
Maine.
"The Green-e certified purchase by Interface Fabrics has helped grow sales
of select Terratex patterns," said Paul Bennotti, director of marketing
strategy for Interface Fabrics. "Our customers appreciate the value of
products made with renewable energy and it is our intention to broaden the
program scope to include even more Green-e certified Terratex pattern
offerings. We believe this will result in more customer participation in
the program that will directly translate into increased growth for the
green energy reinvestment fund in Maine."
In addition to the renewable energy purchased through RECs, the Guilford,
Maine facility also uses waste wood chips to supply 60 percent of its
total energy needs, equating to about 20 percent of the total energy needs
for all of Interface Fabrics' New England operations. In 2004, Interface
Fabrics used 9,750 tons of waste wood chips in their manufacturing
process, generating an equivalent of 85 trillion BTUs. This equates to the
energy derived from burning 600,000 gallons of #2 fuel oil.
Interface Flooring Systems
Interface Flooring Systems has purchased 30,000 MWh of Green-e certified
RECs from wind farms in Kansas and Minnesota and a biomass project in
Kentucky, enabling the company to offset 100 percent of the electricity
needed to produce all modular carpet products made in Troup County,
Georgia. Interface Flooring Systems' renewable energy purchases equate to
the avoidance of 18,938 metric tons of Co2 emissions, the same as taking
3,647 cars off the road for a year.
"Our goal to become sustainable exceeds the technology available to us
today," explained John Wells, president of Interface Flooring Systems.
"But what we can do is invest in the growth of the green energy market, so
that we support the development of clean energy sources all over the
country."
Bentley Prince Street
Bentley Prince Street in City of Industry, CA achieved 100 percent
renewable electricity in 2004, through a combination of Green-e certified
RECs, green power purchases from the grid and on-site power generation
from its photovoltaic array. The company has committed to purchasing
25,751 MWh of Green-e certified RECS between 2004 and 2007, equivalent to
16,256 metric tons of CO2 avoided, or 9,626 tons of coal not burned.
"We're very excited to be able to tie our renewable energy purchases
directly to our strong sales growth this year," said Anthony Minite,
president of Bentley Prince Street. "It is our goal to have a continued
positive impact on the green power marketplace."
Interface, Inc. is a recognized leader in renewable energy applications,
having won a Green Power Purchasing Award in 2004, awarded by the U.S.
EPA, the U.S. DOE and the Center for Resource Solutions. In addition to
Interface's participation in WRI's Green Power Market Development Group,
all three North American business units are members of the EPA's Green
Power Partnership, and Interface was also honored in 2003 with the Lone
Star Award for Green Energy from the Southeast Green Power Network.
Atlanta-based Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: IFSIA), is a global leader in the
manufacture of environmentally-responsible floorcoverings and other
textiles in the U.S., Asia-Pacific and Europe through subsidiaries and
divisions such as Bentley Prince Street, Interface Fabrics, Interface
Flooring Systems, InterfaceFLOR and the Prince Street House & Home
Collection. The company is committed to giving the marketplace a
wide range of choices for specifying Earth-friendly and third party
certified Environmentally Preferable Products, with the industry's first
climate neutral carpet, Cool Carpet, as well as the only carpet
product to be designed using biomimicry, the i2 collection from
Interface Flooring Systems. The company also offers a residential carpet
product made by InterfaceFLOR with facecloth fibers produced from a
rapidly-renewable, corn-based polymer.
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