We’re honored to be featured in Inc. Magazine’s December issue, and see our CEO and Founder, Kevin Surace, named as Entrepreneur of the Year (and on the cover sitting on a stack of EcoRock). The story is online here. We think it’s a must-read if you’re interested in knowing more about what drives us as a company and how rethinking our buildings - starting with windows and drywall - can make a real difference to our energy crisis, climate challenges, and economy.

It has indeed been an incredible year. The reinvention of how we build and rebuild our environment for utmost energy savings is no simple task. With our partners and customers, we are seriously committed to continue on the very important path we are on together.

We are honored to be recognized by WSJ for our EcoRock drywall innovation to win this year in the Environment category. It’s always nice when mainstream understands the significance of the problem we are tackling - with the help of all of our partners in the building ecosystem, from green architects, to energy modelers, to installers, and many more. See full list of this year’s innovation winners here. Our full press release reads:

Serious Materials Wins Prestigious Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award
Five Times More Environmentally-Friendly Than Gypsum Drywall, EcoRock Honored in Environment Category The Technology Showcase

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–Serious Materials, the leading energy-saving building materials company in the U.S., received the 2009 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award for the Environment category. Chosen from among nearly 500 applications, Serious Materials’ EcoRock is among the Wall Street Journal’s top innovations this year. This award adds to Serious Materials’ growing list of achievements, including Popular Science’s Best of What’s New and selection for the first Aspen Institute award for innovation in Energy Conservation. Serious Materials has also been recognized by TIME/CNN, Fortune, BusinessWeek, GreenTech Media and Red Herring as one of the most promising green technology companies.

EcoRock requires 80 percent less energy to make than traditional drywall and produces 80 percent less carbon dioxide due to the natural curing and drying process as well as eliminating the calcining processes, eliminating the energy-intensive processes of traditional gypsum drywall production. EcoRock is made using pre-consumer recycled waste, including waste from steel and cement plants – and zero gypsum. EcoRock is the first product to receive Environmental Claims Validation by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Environment. The UL Environment audit validates the following environmental claims for EcoRock: 80% recycled content, low VOC emissions (meets CA 01350), mercury free, and highly resistant to mold. And EcoRock is the first termite resistant drywall product available anywhere.

“This is a great honor for our company as we continue to innovate and revolutionize the building materials market,” said Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials. “The manufacturing of standard gypsum drywall has remained virtually unchanged for over 100 years, when the environmental impact of building operations and materials manufacturing processes was not understood. The built environment is the single largest contributor to global greenhouse gases. Buildings account for more than 50% of CO2 emissions generated worldwide, compared to the 9% attributed to car emissions. We are committed to continuous, aggressive innovation that enables the most energy-efficient, cost-effective, environmentally responsible buildings.”

“[It is a] novel solution to a basic problem that has enormous impact,” said Darlene Solomon, chief technology officer of Agilent Technologies and an Innovation Awards judge.

The winners of this year’s Innovation Awards will be a part of The Technology Showcase October 14 and 15, which will spotlight 75 of the industry’s most innovative companies, all vetted by VentureWire editors as industry standouts. Among the speakers at the Technology Showcase will be Walt Mossberg, personal-technology columnist of The Wall Street Journal.

Environmental Claims Validation launches with Serious Materials’ EcoRock new drywall product

UL Environment Inc. today announced it has validated environmental claims for Serious Materials’ new drywall product, EcoRock™. This represents the first validation of claims by UL Environment since its launch in January 2009, and the first product in the 115-year history of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to receive an Environmental Claims Validation. UL Environment is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UL, a world leader in product safety testing services.

UL Environment validated Serious Materials’ environmental claims for EcoRock by performing assessments and laboratory tests. An audit was conducted for recycled content, environmental chamber tests were performed to determine volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence tests were performed to determine mercury content and microbial resistance tests were performed to determine the product’s resistance to mold. The UL Environment audit validates the following environmental claims for EcoRock: 80% recycled content, low VOC emissions (meets CA 01350), mercury free, and highly resistant to mold.

“As sustainable products become more available, third-party validation of claims by credible organizations like UL Environment will be crucial to eliminating exaggerated green marketing claims,” said Steve Wenc, President, UL Environment Inc. “UL Environment applies solid science and more than a century of testing expertise to protect consumers from vague, false or misleading environmental claims.”

Serious Materials, the leader in energy-saving building materials, completely reengineered the manufacturing and ingredients of drywall with the introduction of EcoRock, the only true green alternative to gypsum drywall and five times more environmentally friendly. EcoRock is used like standard gypsum drywall, but requires 80% less energy in its core production. Its manufacturing process eliminates heaters, dryers, calcining, and the burning of fossil fuels. Using EcoRock instead of gypsum drywall would eliminate up to 20 billion pounds of CO2 emissions per year in North America.

“Specifying UL rated and certified products has long been the industry standard requirement for our customers,” said Kevin Surace, CEO Serious Materials. “Green building mandates continue to be required by government policy and industry leading brands who understand the critical environmental and economic impact of the built environment. The launch of UL Environment Claims Validation is yet another indicator that energy-saving building products and green practices are increasingly becoming the norm, and not the alternative. EcoRock’s UL Environment Claims Validation is just as important to us as it is to our customers.”

UL Environment applies a rigorous, independent testing process to the testing of environmental claims and allows manufacturers that successfully pass the tests to apply the UL Environment service logo on product packaging and marketing materials. This not only protects consumers, institutions and businesses, it also reinforces the credibility of companies that produce products with validated environmental claims. Validation also helps companies differentiate themselves in the increasingly crowded “green” product space.

The only building materials company selected for membership

Sunnyvale, Calif. — May 14, 2009 — Serious Materials, the leading energy-saving building materials company in the U.S., today announced that the company has been selected by the Association of Starwood Franchisees & Owners – North America (ASFONA) to become an Associate Member of ASFONA. Starwood Hotels & Resorts is one of the world’s largest hotel and leisure companies. Serious Materials provides hotels and resorts with advanced building materials that reduce their carbon footprint and create significant savings in energy, operations and construction costs.

Serious Materials’ building products are ideal for hotels and resorts looking to improve guest comfort, save money and energy, and build new construction and retrofit projects targeted for LEED certification. The leading soundproof drywall since 2002, QuietRock® delivers the highest performing noise reduction at the lowest total cost while increasing floor space to meet required STC (sound transmission class) ratings. High R-value SeriousWindows™ and SeriousGlass™ commercial glass save up to 50% of heating and cooling energy costs and improve guest comfort with NE-SW “tuned” sensitivity for morning warmth and afternoon coolness. UV glass protection of 99+% also offers more indoor comfort and dramatically increases life of interior furnishings. QuietGlass® acoustic window and glass technology minimizes outdoor noise without the use of costly, bulky, and heavy insulating glass. EcoRock™, the only true green alternative to gypsum drywall and five times more environmentally friendly, uses 80% less energy in its core production, and has the potential to save billions of pounds of CO2 annually.

ASFONA works together with Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ management teams to build the best and most successful brands in the hotel industry. And collaborates with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® (NYSE:HOT) in the development of brand policies, standards, technology and all other issues impacting its members’ businesses.

“We are honored to have been invited to be a member of ASFONA,” said Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials. “We are pleased to be joining together with ASFONA in providing guidance to the hospitality industry in building the most energy-efficient, cost saving ways to the ultimate benefit of guests, the bottom-line and the environment.”

“Membership of ASFONA is by invitation only and comprises a select group of highly respected suppliers to the hotel industry. Our goal is to work together with Starwood in ensuring all Starwood brands are positioned as leaders in the industry, delivering the highest possible customer satisfaction levels and the desired return on investment to our owners,” said John Shingler, president of ASFONA. “Serious Materials was an obvious choice to add to the group, with its award-winning lines of energy-saving and soundproof building products. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”

About Serious Materials
Serious Materials develops and manufactures sustainable green building materials that save energy, save money, improve comfort and aggressively address climate change. Full frame R-value SeriousWindows™ and SeriousGlass™ commercial glass reduce heating and cooling energy costs by up to 50%. QuietRock® soundproof drywall and QuietGlass® reduce material use, enhance livability, and support dense urban construction. EcoRock™, the only true green alternative to gypsum drywall and five times more environmentally friendly, uses 80% less energy in its core production and has the potential to save billions of pounds of CO2 annually. SeriousWindows, SeriousGlass and super-insulating ThermaRock™ drywall support energy efficiency funding programs as outlined under The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) including Weatherization (WAP), Green Federal Buildings, State Energy Program (SEP), Energy Efficiency Block Grants, Energy Tax Credit for Consumers, and Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings. The company was commended by both President Obama and Vice President Biden for its advanced energy-saving materials and the work it is doing to create thousands of American green jobs. For more information, visit www.SeriousMaterials.com.

About ASFONA
ASFONA is an organization comprising Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, St Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Le Meridien, W Hotels, Westin®, element® and aloftsm owners and owners’ representatives. The overall objective is to ensure that all ownership groups and obviously those in membership have a solid platform upon which owners and investors can work together with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® (NYSE:HOT) senior management team in building the best and most successful brands in the hotel industry. For more information, visit www.asfona.com.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of choices in drywall in…oh, say a hundred years or so. Until now. We are very happy to announce that Popular Science noticed that, too, by recognizing EcoRock - the first environmentally-friendly drywall alternative to gypsum - as its GreenTech Grand Award Winner of 2008.

Traditional drywall factories generate 20 billion pounds of greenhouse gases a year in North America. To put that into perspective, the gypsum drywall creation process is the 3rd largest greenhouse gas producer in the building materials industry. The built environment is responsible for 52% of total, worldwide, greenhouse gases including operations and materials. Compare that to the greenhouse gas creation by automobiles at only 9%! Replacing just one gypsum drywall plant with one of our EcoRock plants is equivalent to taking 65,000 cars off the road. We are excited to be bringing EcoRock to West Coast in 2009!