3.20.2007 - 03:34pm ET

(CSRwire) WASHINGTON - March 20, 2007 - United Technologies Corp. continued its commitment to sustainability by making a $1 million lead corporate gift to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help restore and preserve President Abraham Lincoln's former family cottage. Currently known as the President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home National Monument, the site, located in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to open to the public in early 2008.

Lincoln Cottage was the First Family's seasonal retreat from 1862 to 1864, and aside from the White House is considered the most significant historic site directly associated with Lincoln's presidency. He spent approximately 25 percent of his presidency at the cottage.

Because of United Technologies' technical and financial assistance the Lincoln Cottage Visitor Education Center will become the first National Trust for Historic Preservation site to use green technology in its restoration, and is designed to serve as a model for future sustainable restoration and preservation projects.

"Thanks to the vision and leadership of United Technologies Corporation, Lincoln Cottage and its Visitor Education Center will do more than celebrate the life and ideas of a great American leader," said National Trust President Richard Moe. "It will also provide an innovative model for preserving our historic places using the latest technology for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability."

As part of this process, the National Trust will seek Leadership in Energy Efficient and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. If this is approved, the site will become the first historic building property of the National Trust to receive the certification.

"Green building concepts have primarily found application in new construction. As the world's largest provider of capital goods to the building industry, UTC has a big stake in making all buildings more energy efficient and sustainable," said Krista Pilot, UTC community affairs director. "We join the National Trust in recognizing that older and historic buildings, which together comprise the larger share of total square footage available, can have longer life and greater occupant comfort and cost savings with energy efficient upgrades."

UTC supplies the global building systems industry with such products as energy efficient Carrier cooling and heating systems, UTC Power fuel cells and regenerative-drive Otis elevators that use zero net energy. In addition to offering environmentally friendly products, UTC has been a global corporate leader in reducing energy and water consumption, as well as CO2 emissions. UTC has been named to the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which recognizes the top 10 percent of companies in more than 60 industries and 24 countries and was named one of the "100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2007.

About UTC

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) is a diversified company based in Hartford, Conn., that provides high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries worldwide.

About The Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable. Recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Trust was founded in 1949 and provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to save America's diverse historic places and revitalize communities. Its Washington, D.C., headquarters staff, six regional offices and 28 historic sites work with the Trust's 270,000 members and thousands of local community groups in all 50 states. For more information, visit the Trust's Web site at www.nationaltrust.org.

About Lincoln Cottage

As recently as 1999, the Lincoln Cottage was in disrepair and threatened by neglect. In 2000, President Clinton designated the site as the President Lincoln & Soldiers' Home National Monument. Since then the site has undergone extensive preservation and is scheduled to open to the public in early 2008. When it reopens to the public next year it will feature an adapted 1905 Beaux Arts style building that incorporates sustainable design in its adaptive reuse as the Visitor Education Center.

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