If you don’t know the color of the frame and packaging of the last HVAC system air filter you installed, you’re not alone. While most facilities engineering professionals pay a lot of attention to the MERV ratings of air filters, few pay attention to the color of the filter packaging.
But that may change thanks to a program started by Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and Koch Filter Corporation of Louisville, Ky. The two organizations have started a program to raise awareness of breast cancer—and poor indoor air quality that is one of the causes of breast cancer—by changing the color frames around the filters and the boxes the filters they arrive in to the familiar “Susan G. Komen Pink.” Koch Filter and their supply partners have launched the Pink Filtration Products Crafted with Pride (“PINK”) in Kentucky campaign from its corporate and manufacturing office. Koch’s Multi-Pleat brand of high-efficiency performing MERV 8 and MERV-A 8 thru MERV 13 air filters will be sold “PINK” in 20 different brands throughout North America starting August 2 through November 30, 2010. The company will donate at least $30,000 from the sales of the HVAC air filtration products to the Komen foundation.
“This program is a great way for us to reach as many people as possible for our education and fundraising message,” said Cristina Riccio Kenny, Komen’s manager of corporate relations. “When Koch Filters first approached us about the idea of the ‘PINK’ air filters campaign, we were very excited.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SUSAN G. KOMEN FOUNDATION AND KOCH FILTERS
Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, (www.komen.org) the world’s largest breast cancer advocacy organization, is also the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures.
Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®—started as a small race in Dallas, TX, 30 years ago, and now a series of races with approximately 1.6 million runners participating annually—they have invested nearly $1.5 billion, the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world Founded in 1966 by Joseph Koch and still managed by the Koch family, the Koch Filter Corporation is a world-class manufacturer of air filtration products. They are recognized globally for their high-efficiency air filtration products and a broad range of air filters for any application. Their filtration products are currently installed in over 50,000 commercial, medical and industrial accounts worldwide. Koch is an Energy Star SPP (service and product provider) and Energy Star Partner and their products meet ASHRAE 52.2-2007 Test Standard. For more information about Koch Filter, visit www.kochfilter.com.
We’re always looking for new ways to reach as many people as possible with our education and fundraising message. We saw the partnership with Koch Filters as a unique opportunity to reach people we formerly might not have had a large presence with.” Komen officials were so impressed with the idea that they visited the company on Derby Day last year to discuss it with company executive and later helped assemble filters. “We are very appreciative of Koch Filter’s support and excited about new program,” said Kenny. “Like all of our partners, they have a true, unique and sincere link to the cause.”
David Koch, president of Koch Filters and son of the company’s founder is pleased with the partnership. “Cancer knows no stranger. Every 68 seconds, someone dies from breast cancer somewhere in the world. It is the most prevalent cancer among women today,” he said. “Early detection of breast cancer is critical for women of all ages and we couldn’t think of a better way to bring attention to such an important cause by providing consumers with a high-efficiency air filter that improves the quality of air they breathe.” The inspiration for the “PINK” filter campaign didn’t come from Komen’s well-known event—Race for the Cure—but from another race: the world famous Kentucky Derby held at Louisville’s Churchill Downs. “Susan G. Komen has a longstanding partnership with the Kentucky Derby,” said Koch. “Because of that, some of our employees who go to the Derby every year started to see what a difference that partnership was making in raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research and education. From there, we began to talk about ways that we could help as a company.”
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| John Koch, vice president of operations, Koch Filter Corporation; Carrie Glasscock, senior manager, corporate relations; Margo Lucero, director, global corporate relations; Amanda Caffee, affiliate coordinator, Susan G. Komen for the Cure Louisville Affiliate; Brenda Lauderback, board of directors; David Koch, president, Koch Filter Corporation; Robert Silverthorn, board president, Susan G. Komen for the Cure Louisville Affiliate; David Morris, and Mayor Jerry Abramson Representative of Louisville, Ky. Photo courtesy of the Koch Filter Corporation. |
Both Komen and Koch Filter executives also saw the program as a way for them to raise awareness of poor air quality—a leading cause of many types of cancer, including breast cancer. Koch Filter’s Multi-Pleat “PINK” air filters meet LEED criteria for improved indoor environmental quality.
“Air filters are not like entertainment or Kentucky Fried Chicken-people don’t think about them,” said David White, a marketing specialist for Koch Filters. “Yet our product has a greater effect on anyone because it helps improve ambient air quality.” Air filters with MERV ratings of 12, he noted, can filter out participles as tiny as 1.5 microns. Elizabeth Smith, corporate relations specialist at Komen, agreed. “Indoor air quality is not something that just touches on the lives on people with cancer,” she said. “We all need pure air to live and to keep allergies away. The quality of the air we breathe influences the quality of life for everyone, not just people with cancer.”
