(Prudent Press Agency)--- Thanks to a collaboration between BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a Pennsylvania nonprofit organization is one step closer to transforming an old textile factory in inner city Philadelphia into a new green jobs training center. Through a global contract with CCI, BASF offered its high-performance roofing materials through this program allowing the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) to retrofit the training center’s roof to the highest performance standards.

“We’re thrilled with this roof,” said Jack Strong, Manager of Smart Energy Solutions, an ECA subsidiary. “It’s given a new lease on life to our training center and 150-year old structure. The building, which was quite hot with our old tar paper roof, is much more comfortable. As soon as the BASF roof was installed - even before the finishing coat - we noticed a significant drop in the temperature.”

The organization is aiming for LEED Gold for its new facility, the John S. and James L. Knight Green Jobs Training Center, which will teach unemployed individuals sustainable construction techniques. Once the center is open, BASF will offer instruction to trainers in the latest green building technologies.

The existing built-up roof, which had been patched with acrylic coating and fabric had sustained severe water damage. Wet sections were removed and BASF’s ELASTOSPRAY® spray polyurethane foam (SPF) roofing system was applied to both the new and remaining sections. The 30,000 square foot roof now has an R-value of 38 making it extremely energy efficient. According to Michael Sievers, Marketing Manager for BASF Polyurethane Foam Enterprises, the foam will provide 20 years or more of leak-free service with almost no maintenance. In addition to touting its superior waterproofing and insulation properties, Sievers noted that since SPF roofing can be applied over the top of existing roof layers, much less waste is sent to landfills. “We set a high bar for our products,” said Sievers. “They must satisfy multiple criteria for sustainability, among them energy performance, durability, and the lightest possible environmental footprint.”

The roof was coated with BASF’s ELASTOCOAT™, a white urethane finish, which will further reduce energy consumption and also reflect sunlight, thereby mitigating the building’s urban heat island effect (excessive heating of urban areas due to the lack of vegetation and reflective surfaces). U.S. Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, has promoted white roofs as one of the most effective and immediate means to protect the climate.

BASF has entered into a global agreement with CCI to offer SPF roofing to all of its member cities. CCI has targeted 1,100 cities throughout the world for energy-efficient and clean-energy technology upgrades in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. BASF has also worked with CCI in New Orleans, Chicago, New York City, Toronto and Washington, D.C.


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BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 15,000 employees in North America, and had sales of approximately $17.5 billion in 2008. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.com/usa.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals and oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €62 billion in 2008 and had approximately 97,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.