NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 5, 2024--
LP Building Solutions (LP), a leading manufacturer of high-performance building products, has been named one of America’s Most Responsible Companies for 2025 by Newsweek. This accolade, awarded to LP for the second year in a row, underscores the company’s commitment to corporate responsibility through environmental, social and governance practices.
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“Earning this recognition for the second consecutive year is a testament to our commitment to Building a Better World™,” said LP Chair and CEO Brad Southern. “From advancing sustainable forestry practices to strengthening community engagement, we are dedicated to making a lasting, positive impact and continually elevating our sustainability efforts for the future.”
Through a rigorous selection process, Newsweek evaluated over 2,000 U.S. public companies, analyzing more than 30 key environmental, social and governance performance indicators alongside public perception data gathered from a survey of over 26,000 Americans. This comprehensive review highlighted organizations making tangible strides in social responsibility and sustainability.
LP’s inclusion in the list reflects its wide-ranging sustainability initiatives in the following areas:
LP’s sustainability efforts are detailed in the company’s 2024 Sustainability Report, which showcases its progress in advancing environmental, social and governance practices.
For more information, visit LPCorp.com/Sustainability.
About LP Building Solutions
As a leader in high-performance building solutions, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP Building Solutions, NYSE: LPX) manufactures engineered wood products that meet the demands of builders, remodelers and homeowners worldwide. LP’s extensive portfolio of innovative and dependable products includes Siding Solutions (LP ® SmartSide ® Trim & Siding, LP ® SmartSide ® ExpertFinish ® Trim & Siding, LP BuilderSeries ® Lap Siding and LP ® Outdoor Building Solutions ® ), LP Structural Solutions (LP ® TechShield ® Radiant Barrier, LP WeatherLogic ® Air & Water Barrier, LP Legacy ® Premium Sub-Flooring, LP ® FlameBlock ® Fire-Rated Sheathing, LP NovaCore ® Thermal Insulated Sheathing and LP ® TopNotch ® 350 Durable Sub-Flooring) and oriented strand board (OSB). In addition to product solutions, LP provides industry-leading customer service and warranties. Since its founding in 1972, LP has been Building a Better World ™ by helping customers construct beautiful, durable homes while shareholders build lasting value. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, LP operates 22 plants across the U.S., Canada, Chile and Brazil. For more information, visit LPCorp.com.
The recognition highlights LP’s industry leadership in environmental, social and governance excellence for the second consecutive year. (Graphic: Business Wire)
SYDNEY (AP) — The rare unfurling of an endangered plant that emits the smell of decaying flesh drew hundreds of devoted fans to a greenhouse in Sydney on Thursday where they joined three-hour lines to experience a momentous bloom -– and a fragrance evoking gym socks and rotting garbage.
Tall, pointed and smelly, the corpse flower is scientifically known as amorphophallus titanum — or bunga bangkai in Indonesia, where the plants are found in the Sumatran rainforest.
But to fans of this specimen, she’s Putricia -- a portmanteau of “putrid” and “Patricia” eagerly adopted by her followers who, naturally, call themselves Putricians. For a week, she has graced a stately and gothic display in front of a purple curtain and wreathed in mist from a humidifier at the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden.
Her rise to fame since has been rapid, with up to 20,000 admirers filing past for a moment in her increasingly pungent presence. No corpse flower has bloomed at the garden for 15 years.
The plant only flowers every 7-10 years in the wild.
“The fact that they open very rarely, so they flower rarely, is obviously something that puts them at a little bit of a disadvantage in the wild,” said garden spokesperson Sophie Daniel, who designed Putricia's kooky and funereal display. “When they open, they have to hope that another flower is open nearby, because they can’t self-pollinate.”
There are thought to be only 300 of the plants in the wild and fewer than 1,000 worldwide — including those in cultivation. Among them is Putricia, which arrived at the garden seven years ago.
When her flower was spotted in December she was just 25 centimeters (10 inches) high. By Thursday, she was 1.6 meters (5 feet 3 inches) tall -– and her flower spike was slowly opening like a pleated skirt around a majestic central tuber, the yellow-green outer curling to reveal a burgundy center.
As excitement grew in Sydney about the moment of her bloom, garden staff erected crowd barriers, giving the Victorian greenhouse the air of a rock concert. Fans trod a red carpet to view Putricia from behind velvet ropes in a display inspired by Queen Victoria’s funeral, the Rocky Horror Picture Show and the oeuvre of the late director David Lynch.
Inside, fans took selfies and leaned in for a sniff — an increasingly perilous prospect as Putricia's odor developed. One young woman raised her hands and bowed as though in worship. On social media, garden staff performed a viral dance to Chappell Roan’s summer hit HOT TO GO! against a backdrop of the stately plant.
It was difficult to say why the regal, mysterious and stinky flower had attracted such a following -– but perhaps the answer lay in the “reverence” viewers felt in the presence of “such an amazing living being,” Daniel said.
Along with her real-life visitors, Putricia’s online fandom has been rapid, global and deeply strange -– if much less smelly. A 24/7 live stream established by the botanic garden drew close to a million views in less than a week and a shared language of memes and inside jokes sprang up.
Frequently deployed acronyms included WWTF, or we watch the flower, WDNRP -- we do not rush Putricia – and BBTB, or blessed be the bloom. “Putricia is a metaphor for my life,” wrote one poster, who did not elaborate.
Commenters on social media made plans to hurry to the garden as the plant opened. In just 24 hours, Putricia’s bloom -– and her stench -– would be gone.
As she unfurled, Putricia would heat to 37 degrees Celsius (100 F) to better spread her scent, Daniel said, attracting flies and carrion beetles to burrow inside and lay eggs. Then, work will begin to hand-pollinate the plant in efforts to ensure the species' diversity and survival.
But first, thousands of Putricians will attempt to get as close as they can to their hero of a week.
“We did have a few conversations early on about whether or not we should have vomit bags in the room," said Daniel, adding that garden staff ultimately decided against it. “I haven’t heard of anyone actually being harmed."
Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
A man uses a mop to soak up water from the plants where an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is on display at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Sophie Daniel poses for a photo next to an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Karen, center left, and Wayne McKay photograph themselves with an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
People view an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, which is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
