Every Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) facility in Italy, a total of 16 sites, including the headquarters, is now ISO 14001 certified. Lear Corporation is the first company in Italy to earn multi-site, whole-country ISO 14001 certification. ISO 14001 is a series of international standards governing environmental management systems.

"Lear is especially aware of the importance of good environmental citizenship," said Randall Carron, President - International Operations for Lear Corporation. "In Europe, as in the rest of the world, protecting the environment is a responsibility to which we are fully committed."

Commenting upon this achievement for Lear and what it means for the company's customers, Miguel Herrera-Lasso, President - Fiat Division for Lear Corporation, said, "This multiple-site ISO 14001 certification is the result of the teamwork and the tremendous effort which all of our 4,500 employees in Italy have put into this.

"We feel extremely privileged to be among the first companies to successfully pass an audit for one complete country with so many sites. From this moment on, our customers know that every single delivery in Italy comes from a plant where the environmental management program has been officially certified by an independent organization to this internationally recognized standard."

The certification body, Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), also emphasized the value of the event: "It is rare for a company to be certified in an entire country with so many sites. For Lear this must be quite an achievement," said Demetrio Marino who is Lead Assessor at LRQA.

"By attaining these multiple ISO 14001 certifications in Italy, Lear is making a global effort to address the immediate and long-term impact on the environment of its facilities and products," said Dr. Rebecca Spearot, Director of Environmental Management at Lear.

In order to achieve ISO 14001 certification, a plant must, as a first step, identify the aspects of the operation's activities, products and services that impact the environment and then develop objectives and targets to reduce that impact. The objectives and targets are monitored to demonstrate continual environmental improvement.

As a result of the international ISO 14001 audit, improved waste collection and reduction as well as energy savings have been achieved at Lear's Italian sites. Already the savings are bearing fruit: two thousand tons of waste are now being recycled in an elaborate recycling program and savings of several hundred thousand dollars are anticipated.

More than 30 Lear facilities worldwide have now earned third-party environmental certification and 40 additional Lear facilities are working to earn this prestigious objective during 2000.

Lear Italy, a division of Lear Corporation, produces automotive interior systems for Fiat and other vehicle manufacturers.

Lear Corporation, a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Southfield, Mich., is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers, with 1999 sales of $12.4 billion. The company's world-class products are designed, engineered and manufactured by more than 120,000 employees in over 300 facilities located in 33 countries.

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