LISLE, Ill., Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --KONE Inc. is pleased to announce two new recognitions demonstrating the company's continuing commitment to environmental excellence in the elevator and escalator industry: LEED® Platinum certification for its new U.S. Operations Center in Moline, Ill., and an industry leading score on the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) rating.

"Eco-efficiency is a key driving force in everything we do at KONE, as well as a joint effort with our partners. I want to thank all who have contributed to both of these successes," said Larry Wash, EVP and Area Director of KONE Americas. "We are proud that our efforts and achievements are also acknowledged by external stakeholders."

KONE achieved a commendable score of 90 out of 100 in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an independent not-for-profit organization that aims to drive businesses and cities towards reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable water use. KONE was also included on the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) for the second year running. The index lists the top companies in the CDP report.

"The reporting reflects real achievements KONE has made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our score has risen for three straight years, and we are clearly leading the way in our industry," said Wash.

KONE's long-term environmental objectives are to further improve the eco-efficiency of its solutions, modernize existing elevators and escalators to make them more energy-efficient, and to further reduce the environmental impact of its own operations – especially its carbon footprint.

The newly-constructed KONE Centre in Moline Ill. received LEED® Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) under its Core & Shell (CS) rating system. The category includes base building elements such as structure, envelope and the HVAC system. This is the first time a project has achieved Platinum certification for the CS category in the state of Illinois, requiring the building to score over 80 points out of a possible 100. 

In addition, KONE received LEED Commercial Interiors Gold certification for its interior office design. 

"The new building and our office space reflect our commitment to promoting green building and a sustainable world.  We are proud to call the KONE Centre and the city of Moline home to our U.S. Operations," Wash concluded.

The Moline building opened in August 2012. The development includes sustainable KONE products, including three KONE MonoSpace® Machine Room-Less elevators with Regenerative Drives and KONE Polaris™ Destination Control technology.

For further information, please contact:

Kellie Lindquist, Marketing Manager, KONE Inc., tel. +1 630 955 4202

About KONE
KONE is one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry. The company has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers for the past century, providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and automatic building doors as well as innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance. The company's objective is to offer the best People Flow™ experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment. In 2011, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 5.2 billion and on average 35,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland.

www.kone.us

SOURCE KONE Inc.