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ATLANTA, GA (November 1, 2006)—Interface,
Inc. and Meridian IQ are joint recipients of an Environmental
Excellence Award from the US EPA’s SmartWaySM Transport
Partnership for their impressive achievements and leadership in
reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other air pollutants
related to transportation activities. The award was announced at
the National Association of Environmental Management Forum,
held Oct. 25-27, in Savannah, GA. This
unique partnership between Interface, a leading global manufacturer
of carpet and commercial fabrics, and Meridian IQ, a leading
provider of global logistics services, is a prime example of the
benefits of collaboration between SmartWay Partners.
Meridian IQ helped Interface take the highly
successful Shipper FLEET Performance model and “dig a bit deeper” to
create an even more comprehensive model for measuring Interface’s
transportation footprint that goes well beyond the rail and truck
transport parameters in the EPA model, to also include ocean and air
impacts. Additionally Meridian IQ has also enabled Interface to
break the data down by truckload — even partial truckload – to
ensure the most accurate emission reduction results and to optimize
Interface’s supply chain efficiency in keeping with its
sustainability goals.
“As a company, we have committed
to Mission Zero™, our promise to eliminate any negative impact the
company has on the environment by 2020,” said Tim Riordan, vice
president of supply chain, Interface, Inc. and the company’s liaison
to the SmartWay Transport Partnership. “The tools that the EPA has
provided through the Shipper FLEET Performance Model and the
additional logistical tools and solutions from Meridian IQ have
allowed us to advance considerably toward our target of reducing GHG
emissions related to product transport by 50% by 2020.”
“The
work that Meridian IQ and Interface have done together is proof that
smart companies can make environmentally sound business decisions
that make a positive difference,” said Jim Ritchie, president and
CEO, Meridian IQ. “This recognition of our accomplishments and
leadership in the SmartWay Transport Partnership means a great deal
to the team that worked with Interface, and to all of us at Meridian
IQ.”
“EPA is pleased to recognize Interface, Meridian
IQ and other partners with SmartWay Excellence Awards. The award
winners are leading the way toward a cleaner, more efficient
transportation future with strategies that reduce emissions and
increase profits,” said Margo Oge, director of EPA’s Office of
Transportation and Air Quality.
SmartWay Transport Partners include businesses
and organizations of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to
family-owned businesses, each working to improve their environmental
performance.
About Interface, Inc. Atlanta-based
Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: IFSIA), is a global leader in the
manufacture of environmentally-responsible floorcoverings and other
textiles, through brands including Bentley Prince Street®,
InterfaceFABRIC™, InterfaceFLOR®, and FLOR™. The
company is committed to giving the marketplace a wide range of
choices for specifying Earth-friendly and Environmentally Preferable
Product-certified products, with the industry’s first climate
neutral carpet, Cool Carpet™, and the only carpet product designed
using the principle of biomimicry, the i2™ collection from
InterfaceFLOR Commercial. FLOR offers residential carpet products
created from a rapidly renewable, corn-based polymer (polylactic
acid - PLA) and InterfaceFABRIC’s Terratex® commercial
panel and upholstery fabric is made from fibers containing 100%
post-consumer recycled polyester or 100% rapidly renewable PLA. For
more information, visit
www.interfaceglobal.com
About Meridian IQ: Meridian IQ, a wholly
owned subsidiary of YRC Worldwide Inc. (Nasdaq: YRCW), is a global
logistics management company. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, and
with offices in North America, Asia, Europe and South America,
Meridian IQ enables companies to improve their transportation
network and overall supply chain efficiency by offering flexible
logistics solutions supported by Web-hosted technology and global
logistics management capabilities.
About SmartWay:
SmartWay was introduced
by EPA and a select group of fifteen shipping and business leaders,
including Interface, in 2004 as an innovative, market-based
partnership to reduce fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions, and air
pollutants from the freight sector. In just two years, by
employing straightforward strategies for reducing truck and rail
emissions, Partner companies have drastically reduced their
emissions. Despite record-breaking diesel prices, more
than 400 freight industry companies are on track to save over $1.2
billion on fuel and remove more than 4 million tons of carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions from the air by 2007 as part of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) innovative
SmartWaySM Transport
Partnership. By 2012, the
SmartWay program, with full industry participation, estimates
nationwide annual fuel savings of 3.3 to 6.6 billion gallons of
diesel fuel, eliminating 66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
emissions and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions.
For more information about SmartWay, visit:
www.epa.gov/smartway or call (734) 214-4767.
Media Contact:
Suzanne Dawson
Linden Alschuler & Kaplan
212.329.1420
mailto:sdawson@lakpr.com
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