Koppers Highlights Sustainability Achievements Including Notable Greenhouse Gas Reduction

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Koppers Follansbee Plant Achieves Environmental Certification
February 5, 2004 at 12:00 AM EST
Company plans to expand ISO 14001 certification to all locations in 2004

PITTSBURGH, January 5, 2004 – The Koppers plant in Follansbee, W.Va., has achieved ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental Management System (EMS).

“Environmental stewardship is a core value at Koppers,” said Steven Lish, Follansbee plant manager. “Our employees have worked hard to gain this certification, but they have worked harder to comply with and improve our environmental protection practices.”

The Follansbee plant has been part of Koppers Carbon Materials and Chemicals division since 1988. Each year about 50 employees distill coal tar into carbon pitch, naphthalene, refined tars, paving materials, roofing products, and specialty pitches.

“This certification tells the world that Koppers is committed to systematic and sustainable improvement in our environmental programs,” said Randall D. Collins, Vice President of Safety, Health and Environmental Affairs. “While we will continue our close attention to meeting all environmental regulations, the standard provides a methodology to seek out potential problems and fix them.”

The international standard allows Koppers to implement cost-effective procedures that are applicable worldwide. Koppers is working to gain certification for all its locations worldwide in 2004. ISO 14001 -- established by the International Organization for Standardization -- is the world's most recognized EMS framework, used by more than 37,000 organizations in 112 countries.

Meeting the standard also provides economic benefits, as certified companies use less energy and fewer natural resources, generate less waste, reduce disposal costs, recycle raw materials and improve process efficiency.

About Koppers
Koppers, with corporate headquarters and a research center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a global integrated producer of carbon compounds and treated wood products. Including its joint ventures, Koppers operates 39 facilities in the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, the Pacific Rim and South Africa.

For Information:

Randall D. Collins
Vice President
Safety, Health & Environmental Affairs

(412) 227-2456
(email)

Paul Furiga
WordWrite Communications

(412) 427-0597
(email)