Environmental professionals within the American Furniture Manufacturers Association honored two top suppliers recently for their work on behalf of Association members. The group also recognized a member company for environmental excellence and an individual member for environmental leadership.
Supplier members Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Raleigh, and CH2M Hill, Charlotte, were both recognized for their work on the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently promulgated rule for industrial boilers.
Kilpatrick Stockton serves as AFMA’s environmental counsel and has assisted the Association over the past two years in urging the EPA to develop a reasonable, cost-effective rule that would exclude boilers posing no significant risk to human health or the environment.
CH2M Hill helped develop the scientific data and technical arguments that shielded most AFMA member companies from the costly compliance requirements contained in an early version of the EPA rule. CH2M Hill also helped develop the compliance “toolbox” AFMA now offers members to assist them in complying with the new rule, finalized in February.
Bill Perdue, AFMA’s vice president of Environmental Affairs, recently presented awards to the two companies at the Environmental, Human Resources and Safety Conference-Expo in Charlotte.
Also honored was Stanley Furniture, which received the AFMA award for Environmental Excellence. The award recognizes a company’s commitment to environmental management and outstanding environmental stewardship efforts. Stanley was among the first AFMA members to receive EFEC certification. EFEC stands for “Enhancing Furniture’s Environmental Culture” and is a voluntary environmental management system created by AFMA to keep home furnishings manufacturers in step with environmental legislation and regulation.
Finally, Stuart Stapleton, director of environmental safety and health for Lexington Home Brands, received the Larry Runyan Environmental Leadership Award, named for retired AFMA staffer, Larry Runyan, who headed AFMA’s manufacturing division for 20 years. Stapleton was recognized for his outstanding work with the association’s environmental affairs committee and his leadership in environmental management systems, including EFEC.
The American Furniture Manufacturers Association is headquartered in High Point, N.C. – the furniture capital of the world – and represents more than 200 leading U.S. furniture manufacturers and 250 suppliers to the furniture industry.
About Kilpatrick Stockton
Kilpatrick Stockton LLP is a full-service international law firm with more than 470 attorneys in nine offices across the globe: Atlanta and Augusta, GA.; New York, New York; Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem, N.C.; Washington, D.C.; London, England; and Stockholm, Sweden. Kilpatrick Stockton’s delivery of innovative business solutions provides results-oriented counsel for corporations, from the challenging demands of financial transactions and securities to the disciplines of intellectual property management. Collaboration among Kilpatrick Stockton’s corporate, litigation and intellectual property attorneys provides knowledgeable and proactive guidance for companies at every stage of the business life cycle.
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