Sep. 1, 2009 (PR Newswire) --

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- UL Environment, Inc. (ULE) today announces Paul M. Firth as the organization's new senior staff engineering associate. Firth joins ULE from The Green Standard, where he led the creation of the first U.S. Environmental Product Declaration Program in accordance with ISO 14025 and served as liaison to the United Nation's Environmental Program (UNEP). At ULE, Firth will utilize a decade of experience creating sustainable business practices to support industry-wide environmental standards development, product assessment and provide strategic direction for the advancement of materials science in the green marketplace.

"Paul Firth is a highly-regarded thought leader in environmental practices across multiple industries," said Steve Wenc, President, UL Environment Inc. "By diversifying our own expertise and investing in the best and brightest talent, ULE is keeping pace with the growing demand for our environmental validation, certification and standards development services."

Firth previously served as manager of sustainable strategies of Interface Inc., the largest carpet tile manufacturer in the world, where he was responsible for their global LCA program and their sustainability certifications programs for their North American divisions. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from Auburn University.

About UL Environment, Inc.

UL Environment (ULE) is helping support the growth and development of sustainable products and services in the global marketplace through standards development and independent third-party assessment and certification. ULE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories, a global leader in conformity assessment that has been testing products and writing standards for more than a century. ULE currently offers Environmental Claims Validation(TM) (ECV), a service testing and verifying manufacturers' self-declared environmental claims and Sustainable Products Certification(TM) (SPC), a service testing and certifying products to accepted industry standards for environmental sustainability. ULE is developing additional environmental standards, training and advisory services to support organizations in the sustainable products and services industry. For more information please visit www.ulenvironment.com.

SOURCE UL Environment, Inc.