Whirlpool Corporation last week made a first-of-its-kind commitment while at EE Global Forum & Exhibition in Paris. Whirlpool Corporation was the founding sponsor of the first EE Global Forum in 2007, and again served as a founding sponsor in 2009, the second EE Global Forum.

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Bracken Darrell, president of Whirlpool Europe, and executive vice president of Whirlpool Corporation, highlighted the company's longstanding leadership in energy and water efficiency, including the first announcement by an appliance manufacturer of a global greenhouse gas emissions reduction target at the Kyoto Protocol in 2003, and an expansion of the original target at EE Global in 2007.

Darrell stressed the critical importance of a collaborative effort among industry, government institutions, NGOs, utilities and other stakeholders to drive truly meaningful energy conservation, before announcing the company's newest commitment.

"By 2015, Whirlpool Corporation will make all the electronically controlled appliances it produces -- everywhere in the world -- capable of receiving and responding to signals from smart grids," said Darrell.

Darrell indicated that the company's ability to successfully deliver on this commitment in this timeframe was dependent on two important public-private partnerships:

  --  The development by the end of 2010 of an open, global standard for
      transmitting signals to and receiving signals from a home appliance;
      and
  --  Appropriate policies that reward consumers, manufacturers and
      utilities for using and adding these new peak demand reduction
      capabilities.

"Whirlpool believes this bridging technology is so important that we are going to invite the appliance industry, the utility industry, policymakers, NGOs, and relevant technology companies to come together at the upcoming Copenhagen climate change conference to discuss how we can accelerate the adoption of these new capabilities," said Darrell.

Podcasts of Bracken Darrell and others who attended EE Global are available for download or play at: http://eeglobalforum.org/updates/. For more information about the forum, please visit: http://eeglobalforum.org/

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $19 billion, 70,000 employees, and 68 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: angela.hersil@whirlpool.com

SOURCE: Whirlpool Corporation