MILLIKEN MATCH TO HELP PAY FOR BUILDING DEBT RETIREMENT, SUSTAINABILITY UPGRADES

Columbia, SC – September 28, 2009 – Thanks to a generous new donation for building improvements, the SC Republican Party is investing in sustainable building practices.

SC Republican Party Chairman Karen Floyd and upstate textile and manufacturing magnate Roger Milliken today announced that Milliken has agreed to make dollar-for-dollar matching donations to pay for the Party’s headquarters mortgage. The Party is using the opportunity to upgrade the facility to green building standards, also known as LEED standards, a concept introduced to the Party by Milliken.

The cost between the mortgage balance and the needed upgrades is approximately $500,000, of which Milliken has agreed to match up to half of the mortgage balance on a dollar-for-dollar basis up until December 7, 2009.

“Today’s announcement is one more example of an incredible vision and stewardship on the part of Mr. Milliken,” Floyd said. “Mr. Milliken has not only been a great steward of the Party over the years, but of the earth as well. We thank him for introducing us to the LEED concept, and his vision of the long-term cost reductions this investment will mean – along with our reduced consumption of energy and water – will be a tremendous legacy for our Party.”

Milliken has a long record of environmental stewardship at Milliken and Company, a global leader in textile and chemical manufacturing innovation. Among their accomplishments are 43 Milliken manufacturing sites not sending any waste to landfills, and that less than one-tenth of 1% of their solid waste was landfilled in 2008.

“I believe that as Republicans, we should not only be conservative with our financial resources, but equally conservative with natural resources as well, which is part of why I’ve become so passionate about LEED standards,” Milliken said. “An investment in LEED standards is an investment in the future because of its long-term impact on water and energy costs. Building to LEED standards also demonstrates our commitment to sustainability, something my company has been focused on for many years.”

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED measures a number of criteria, including site sustainability, water and energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and others. There are currently over 19,000 projects registered with the LEED system, including projects in all 50 states and in 91 countries.

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