Chicago Climate Exchange Assigns Market Value to Greenhouse Gas Reduction; Mithun First Architecture Firm to Join; More Firms Pay to Improve the Environment.

SEATTLE -- If the health of the environment were assigned a market value and reflected in the U.S. economy, the environment's status and economic worth of its protection would increase.

That's the premise behind the Chicago Climate Exchange Inc. (CCX), which works similarly to a stock market. But, instead of trading shares of companies, CCX members trade emissions allowances.

A case study: Seattle-based Mithun is the first architecture and planning firm to join CCX. Mithun has committed to purchasing carbon credits to match the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of its office's energy consumption and its staff's business and commuting travel as one part of the firm's overall environmental footprint minimization. This amounts to approximately 700 metric tons of carbon per year. The credits Mithun will purchase and retire are generated by emission cuts by other exchange participants who produce mitigation projects, such as landfill methane destruction and reforestation projects. These projects reduce carbon in the atmosphere.

"Voluntarily joining this exchange confirms Mithun's mission to not only design sustainable places, but to conduct itself as a responsible member of the global community," says Bert Gregory AIA, Mithun's President and CEO.

CCX, an international market for trading credits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is the first legally binding commitment by North American corporations, municipalities and other institutions to reduce emissions through market mechanisms. CCX associate members, such as Mithun, are largely professional services firms or non-profits with indirect greenhouse gas emissions from business-related activities. However, CCX members, which generate direct emissions, include DuPont and Amtrak. Both associate members and members participate in the exchange to reduce or completely offset their carbon footprint.

As the number of firms joining CCX increases, the value placed on the health of the environment increases. More than 90 companies have joined CCX since it began trading in 2003, reflecting a cross-section of major North American companies and organizations in the public and private sectors, including: Ford Motor Co., IBM, the City of Chicago, and Oklahoma University, as well as non-industrial environmental innovators such as the World Resources Institute, Natural Capitalism, and the Rocky Mountain Institute.

"Mithun's proven leadership in the design of sustainable places, building and neighborhoods will be a significant asset to the CCX program," says Dr. Richard Sandor, Chairman and CEO of CCX. "We are thrilled to have Mithun as the first architecture firm to join, and I feel it will be a mutually beneficial relationship."

About Mithun

Mithun is a nationally recognized leader in the design of sustainable places, buildings and neighborhoods. The Seattle-based firm designed the first LEED(R) Gold-certified retail store, REI Portland, and one of the first five LEED(R) Gold-certified buildings in the United States, IslandWood, an environmental learning center. More than 70% of Mithun's interdisciplinary technical staff are LEED(R) Accredited Professionals, and the firm's culture supports employees' research-based explorations of integrated design that is sustainable, livable and buildable. www.mithun.com.

About CCX

Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. (CCX) is a self-regulatory exchange that administers the world's first multi-national and multi-sector marketplace for reducing and trading greenhouse gas emissions. Members include leading companies in the public and private sectors. www.chicagoclimatex.com.