Kimball(R) Office and National Office Furniture Complete Carbon Disclosure Project Report

JASPER, Ind., Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Further strengthening their commitment to environmental and social stewardship, Kimball(R) Office and National Office Furniture, brand units of Kimball International Inc. (NASDAQ: KBALB), have completed the Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) Investor Report. With the completion of the CDP report, Kimball Office and National have achieved the maximum points under the organization category, within the American National Standards Institute/Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (ANSI/BIFMA) e3 Sustainability Standard certification program, level(R). This achievement enables more of the companies' products to move into the industry's highest certification of level 3. Kimball Office and National voluntarily disclosed measurements and management of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change initiatives to the CDP.

Both companies already execute to standards and programs that promote sustainable efficiencies and reporting.  Examples include manufacturing facilities certified to ISO 9000, ISO 14001 and Forest Stewardship Council(TM) (FSC) Chain-of-Custody, products carry third-party certifications of ANSI/BIFMA level 2 and 3 as well as Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) Indoor Advantage(TM) and Indoor Advantage Gold, and a commitment to pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(R)) certification in existing, renovated and new buildings and spaces.

The CDP report provides a third-party evaluation of organizations' climate change initiatives, a baseline to track improvements, increase transparency and overall strengthen commitment to sustainability. More than 3,000 organizations across the globe participate in the CDP and measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, water management and climate change strategies. And, as many industries, including commercial furniture, move towards environmental product declarations based on certifications and life cycle assessments, carbon disclosure and climate change impacts will be key data that manufacturers and suppliers will measure and make readily accessible to consumers.

"Our company has a rich heritage in environmental stewardship. The completion of the CDP report brings forth more accountability, transparency and insight as the process to collect and measure data will help us as we work to continuously improve our performance and strategy towards our climate change initiatives," said Georgy Olivieri, Director, Architecture, Design, and Sustainable Strategies, Kimball Office.

"Completing the CDP was another step forward in our sustainability journey. Putting in the time and effort now to measure and understand our performance will only help our companies in the future. The third-party objective assessment of the CDP and its measures are foundational across other social and environmental initiatives and certifications, further complementing our ongoing commitment to a more sustainable future," said Mendy Claridge, Sustainable and Technical Product Solutions Manager, LEED AP ID+C, National Office Furniture.

"We strive to go beyond what is merely required and do all that we can to be a good corporate neighbor and lessen our environmental impact. We implemented a greenhouse gas management system several years ago to ensure we had the data to analyze and act upon in our pursuit of reduced emissions. The CDP Investor program provides a platform to identify improvements, cost-saving initiatives, develop innovative reduction opportunities while sharing our performance," said John Shank, Research & Development Sustainability Manager, Kimball International.

For more information or to view CDP questionnaire responses from Kimball Office and National Office Furniture, visit: https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/Pages/HomePage.aspx.

CONTACT: Laura Barnard, +1-317-873-8100, [email protected]

SOURCE Kimball Office