TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 7, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- In a landmark achievement, Virco's (AMEX:VIR) recycling and resource recovery initiatives have been recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with two Partner of the Year awards for 2002. As an EPA WasteWise Partner of the Year for Large Businesses, and as an inaugural Climate Change Partner of the Year, Virco was commended for its industry-leading environmental accomplishments.
"We're very pleased to be honored by the EPA," said Robert A. Virtue, Virco's President, Chairman and CEO. "Environmental responsibility is a key to the way we do business. Our employees take pride in contributing to Virco's resource recovery efforts."
Both Partner of the Year Awards reflect the success of Virco's industry-leading environmental policies. Since 1989, the company has processed over 150,000,000 pounds of cardboard, plastics, steel, wood dust and other materials. Not only that, Virco's state-of-the-art Conway, Arkansas facility especially excels in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The EPA's WasteWise program was established in 1994 to assist its voluntary business, government and institutional partners in achieving improved waste reduction. Currently, over 1,100 organizations participate in the program.
To date, the two newly announced EPA honors give Virco a total of four major environmental awards for 2002. In May, the company was recognized by the General Services Administration as an Evergreen Award recipient, while in April, Virco received an Award of Excellence from the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission.
Over the years, Virco has received an array of national, state and local honors reflecting its commitment to environmental excellence. Many of these awards were recently on display at the company's Merchandise Mart showroom in Chicago during NeoCon(r) 2002, where Virco was also recognized with a Best of NeoCon Gold Award for its ergonomically supportive I.Q.(r) Series education furniture collection. For more on Virco's NeoCon product offerings, an on-line version of the company's NeoCon 2002 "Reality Check" brochure is available for viewing at www.realitycheck.virco.com.