On the 105th anniversary of the invention of modern air conditioning by company founder Willis Carrier, Carrier Corp. celebrated product and technology achievements that are helping to restore the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

On July 17^th 1902 Willis Carrier commissioned the world’s first modern air conditioner for a Brooklyn, N.Y., printing company. The invention solved the expansion and contraction of paper in a printing press caused by humidity and temperature variation. For decades, Carrier has been an industry leader in environmental stewardship. In 1994, Carrier was the first company to phase-out CFCs in air-conditioning systems on a global basis — two years ahead of requirements in the U.S. and 16 years ahead of mandates in developing countries. In 1996, Carrier was first to offer non-ozone depleting commercial and residential systems. Since then, Carrier has sold more than 2 million non-ozone depleting Puron residential systems in North America. For these outstanding environmental achievements, Carrier has been selected to receive the 2007 Best-of-the-Best Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, reveals the company’s press release.

"On this anniversary of the invention of modern air conditioning, we are proud to celebrate our environmental stewardship and to be honored with this prestigious EPA award", said Geraud Darnis, president of Carrier Corp. The Best-of-the-Best Award nominees were evaluated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency staff and judged by an international panel representing industry, government, and non-governmental organizations. The award will be presented Sept. 19 at a celebration in Montreal marking the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol.