2009 Greener By Design/Steelcase Sustainable Design Contest Challenges Students to...

2009 Greener By Design/Steelcase Sustainable Design Contest Challenges
Students to Explore Intersection of Design and Corporate Responsibility

Contest Winners Include Students From Cooper Union, MIT and University of
Minnesota

SAN FRANCISCO, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Steelcase Inc. (NYSE: SCS), a
global office environments manufacturer, today announced the winners of the
Steelcase Sustainable Design Contest at the 2009 Greener by Design Conference
at The Palace Hotel. As part of the contest, students submitted an idea for a
product, service, or business venture with a social and/or environmental
benefit and winners were selected based on originality and creativity, use of
core environmental sustainability principles and clear evidence of social
value. Winners of the challenge include:

-- Dave Berger from Cooper Union for Solar Lights, an affordable
solar-powered lighting system for the millions of people living in
remote, rural regions of Africa and the rest of the world.
-- John Dreher and Mike Norelli from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
for their idea, MC Shared, a human-centered energy monitoring system
that empowers Americans to be more energy efficient in their homes.

-- Edgar Rudberg from the University of Minnesota for designing The
Community Cactum Rainwater Collection System, a kit that aims to help
water deprived communities collect and store rainwater.

"The focus of the contest is on the design of products, services, and business
ideas that have an environmental and social benefit," said Angela Nahikian,
director of global environmental strategy and programs for Steelcase. "The
quality of work submitted by the students was impressive and the winners
should be commended for understanding and succinctly conveying the social and
design aspects of their ideas."

Steelcase partnered with Net Impact, a global organization of over 10,000
students and professionals committed to using business skills to improve the
world, and Greenbiz.com, the leading online information resource on how to
align environmental responsibility with business success, to select the
winners. Students were required to submit their idea in 500 words or less and
were encouraged to submit design files, concept papers, drawings, business
plans or photographs.

For winning, the students received a full student scholarship to attend the
2009 Greener by Design conference. Winners will be recognized at the event and
have the opportunity to present their work to conference attendees.
Scholarship winners can take advantage of all conference sessions, keynotes,
networking opportunities, and have the ability to meet executives from some of
the world's best-known brands.

About Steelcase Inc.
Steelcase provides furniture, services and insights to help people have a
better work experience, and to help companies and organizations create
inspiring spaces with a maximum impact on performance and a minimum impact on
the environment. A Michigan-based company that has been serving customers for
nearly a century, Steelcase leads the global office furniture industry with
$3.4 billion in annual revenue. Learn more at www.steelcase.com.

SOURCE Steelcase Inc.

Sara Whitman, +1-212-931-6121, swhitman@peppercom.com, for Steelcase Inc.