DaimlerChrysler Joins Suppliers Partnership for the Environment In Providing Value to the Auto Supply Chain

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2003 -- At a Green Suppliers Network (GSN) meeting today hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP), represented by Lear Corporation, General Motors and B.A.E. Industries, Inc., announced that DaimlerChrysler Corporation has joined its innovative supply chain organization.

"We are happy to announce that DaimlerChrysler has joined the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment," said Rebecca Spearot, SP's Chair of the Board of Directors and Director, Environmental Management, Lear Corporation. Spearot continued, "DaimlerChrysler is showing through their support of SP, their commitment to increasing the business performance of companies in the automobile industry while reducing environmental impacts."

"The Suppliers' Partnership for the Environment establishes a forum where the Environmental Protection Agency and the automobile supply industry can work together to achieve common goals of environmental performance," said Stephen L. Johnson, Acting Deputy Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. Johnson continued, "Through pollution prevention, smarter decisions can be implemented throughout the automobile manufacturing process that will benefit the environment and a company's bottom-line. We welcome DaimlerChrysler's participation in this important effort."

"DaimlerChrysler Corporation is looking forward to working with SP members and the EPA," said Reginald Modlin, Director of Environmental & Energy Planning, DaimlerChrysler. "This partnership demonstrates that leading companies in the automobile industry and the government can work together to identify and address issues that will bring about a positive impact for the environment while improving the economic viability of the industry and its supply chains," Modlin added.

"The addition of DaimlerChrysler brings the total membership of SP to 21 companies," said Gary Mayo, SP's Membership Development Chair and Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, Visteon Corporation. "We are anticipating that with the active participation of DaimlerChrysler, and the continued participation of GM, SP will soon attract additional OEMs as well as an increasingly larger number of Tier I, Tier II and Tier III suppliers within the automobile industry," he stated.

The Suppliers Partnership's members include: Ashland Inc.; B.A.E. Industries, Inc.; Chemico Systems, Inc.; DaimlerChrysler Corporation; Delphi Corporation; Detroit Chassis LLC; Federal-Mogul Corporation; Flo-Matic Corporation; Freudenberg-NOK; General Motors Corporation; GKN Sinter Metals; Guardian Automotive; Haas TCM; JD Plating Co. Inc.; Johnson Controls, Inc.; Lear Corporation; Motorola, Inc.; NSK Corporation; Petoskey Plastics, Inc.; Renosol Corporation; and Visteon Corporation. For more information about SP please visit our website: www.supplierspartnership.org.