Contact: Bonnie Merrill Limbach
(202)974-5210

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPI TO PRESENT WORKSHOP ON ISO 14001

WASHINGTON (May 31, 2000) — On October 5, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) will present a workshop entitled "ISO 14001 – Challenges and Benefits for Plastics Processors."

The one-day event will be held at the Detroit Marriott Romulus in Romulus, MI, and featured speakers will include representatives from Ford, Xerox, General Motors and NSF. Agenda topics will focus on customer requirements, best practices and shared experiences of plastics processors, identification and evaluation of environmental aspects and impacts, key elements of ISO 14001, review of the certification process and leveraging the value of a company's QMS.

Workshop participants also will receive a free copy of "Environmental Management Systems: An Implementation Guide for Small and Medium-Sized Organizations."

The purpose of the workshop is to help plastics processors "meet customer mandates and take advantage of the benefits" of ISO 14001, said Marlae Fry, SPI manager of environmental issues. The new standard quickly is becoming an essential condition for doing business in the United States and around the world, Fry noted, with an increasing number of companies requiring that their suppliers implement environmental management systems in conformance with ISO 14001.

Benefits of an ISO 14001-based system, she said, go beyond meeting the potential requirements of customers. The standard, Fry explained, is a practical tool that can help companies "reduce energy and materials consumption, reduce waste, manage environmental liability and improve corporate image."

The cost of the workshop is $325 per person for SPI members and $425 for non-members registering before August 1. After that date, the fee will be $375 per person for SPI members and $475 for non-members. Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For more information on the workshop, contact Marlae Fry at (202) 974-5276; e-mail mfry@socplas.org.

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., (SPI) is the trade association representing the fourth-largest manufacturing industry in the United States. SPI's nearly 1700 members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw material suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.5 million workers and provides $304 billion in annual shipments.

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