Madison, WI - December 23, 2008 - Leonardo Academy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing sustainability, has teamed up with EGM Green to develop a sustainability standard for the gaming industry, under the rules of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The goal of this initiative is to help the gaming industry to identify and communicate the sustainability parameters of their products and services and to allow industry purchasers to identify their sustainability preferences when purchasing gaming equipment and services.

Leonardo Academy has been working with Eric Hansel of EGM Green to increase awareness about this sustainability standard development initiative for the gaming industry. In January 2009, Leonardo Academy will launch an outreach campaign inviting individuals and organizations along the entire gaming industry supply chain to apply to serve on the standard development committee for this project. The standard development committee will be charged with developing a comprehensive framework and common set of sustainability metrics to assess the environmental, social, and economic performance of the gaming industry, which includes gaming products and services, as well as the operations of the gaming companies and organizations themselves.

In addition to applying to serve on the standard development committee, interested parties can participate on a standard development subcommittee, make a financial donation to support the development of this standard or make a commitment to use the final standard to document the sustainability parameters of their products or services or to call out the preferred sustainability profiles of the products and services they purchase. It is anticipated that a draft final standard will be available for public comment by August 2009.

Anyone interested in participating in the standard development process for sustainable gaming should contact Michael Arny (michaelarny@leonardoacademy.org, 608-310-3131) or Amanda Raster (amanda@leonardoacademy.org, 608-310-3135) at Leonardo Academy.

About EGM Green - Founded by Eric Hansel in 2007, EGM Green designs and manufactures the world's only eco-friendly casino tables and furniture and provides LEED services and green consulting for casinos, hotels, spas and homes. Eric has used his knowledge of the gaming industry, as well as his long-term sales and marketing background, to bring large-scale sustainability to the casino industry. Eric has formed a multi-disciplinary team whose goal is to increase the energy efficiency of slot machines by 50% within five years. Eric is also a board member for his local branch of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), a business counselor for Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) and serves on the ethics committee for the WPA (World Poker Association). In addition, Eric writes for many trade publications and produces a monthly article on Green Gaming for Casino Journal.

About Leonardo Academy - Leonardo Academy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1997 with a vision of advancing sustainability and putting the competitive market to work on improving the environment. Leonardo Academy is a Think and Do Tank that develops and distributes strategies, guidance, metrics, standards, and education focused on increasing sustainability. Leonardo Academy helps companies, organizations, families, and individuals successfully promote, encourage, and implement environmental improvement through a wide range of sustainability services, including sustainability assessments and strategy development, LEED(R) and LEED-EB implementation and certification, emissions footprint analysis and emission reduction and offset strategies, sustainable land management, sustainability education and training.

Leonardo Academy

Leonardo Academy

Leonardo Academy is a charitable (501c3)nonprofit that promotes sustainability. Our primary focus is developing and supporting approaches to environmental improvement that put the competitive market to work on improving the environment. Work includes: Cleaner and Greener® recognition and certification program for emission reduction actions by companies, organizations, events, families and individuals - Key role in authoring and supporting U.S. Green Building Council' LEED® for Existing Buildings Rating System, Supporting development, implementation and documentation of LEED projects - Sustainability training and education - Prairie and savannah restoration - ANSI Accredited Standard Developer: Developing ANSI standard for emissions inventories, emission reduction credits and offsets.

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