PepsiCo's Chicago office announced on December 4 that its downtown corporate plaza has received the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
PepsiCo's Chicago Plaza office earned recognition for reducing energy use by 10 percent in less than a year, cutting water to 37 percent below Energy Policy Act performance standards, and eliminating almost 226 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions through energy saving programs. Building on PepsiCo's "Performance with Purpose" sustainability vision to improve environmental, social, and economic aspects for a better tomorrow, this certification reinforces the company's commitment to reduce the impact of its businesses on the environment.
"Our LEED certification is a tremendous accomplishment and a testament to the passion of our employees who created a 'Green Team' devoted to making environmental responsibility an integral part of our corporate culture," said Jim Lynch, senior vice president North America Beverages Supply Chain. "We consider this achievement just one step in our journey to help realize a better tomorrow for our environment, community, associates and our business."
Employees' Passion to be Green Evokes Change
As an employee-established environmental committee, the PepsiCo Green Chicago Team focused on four critical elements in the large-scale effort to obtain LEED certification:
Energy savings: The Green Team was able to keep all employees engaged and aware of their daily energy use through employee-nominated floor leaders.
Waste reduction: Monthly contests were held that pit each of the 16 floors against each other in competition to reduce waste and both winners and losers were announced internally.
Recycling: A formal recycling program was also started that focused on recycling 100 percent of the recyclable glass, paper, plastic, cardboard, batteries, printer/fax cartridges, and light bulbs discarded in the Chicago Plaza's refuse bins. The program has diverted 70 percent of the Chicago Plaza's solid waste to recycling centers so that it can be beneficially recycled and reused instead of being disposed in local municipal landfills.
Air quality: The Plaza replaced all janitorial and cleaning products with alternative cleaning products that meet the USGBC's stringent Sustainable Cleaning Products and Materials standards and improved the building's HVAC system to be more efficient.
"Our goal in the beginning was to shift the cultural perspective and instill a sense of environmental responsibility," said Meagan Smith, marketing manager, Quaker Foods & Snacks and Green Team co-founder. "The Silver LEED certification not only reinforces our mission, but also sets a serious example for others in the industry that employees can evoke change."
As a leader in the development of green buildings, the Chicago Plaza joins an important list of PepsiCo's other LEED-certified buildings such as the Tolleson, Wytheville, and Pryor Gatorade facilities, and the Frito-Lay Rochester Distribution Center. PepsiCo's Green Team is now working with other PepsiCo office buildings across the country to encourage greater environmental responsibility and LEED certification of other PepsiCo office buildings.
The LEED Green Building Rating System for existing buildings operations and maintenance is the nationally accepted benchmark for maximizing operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts. To earn LEED certification, points are awarded for building attributes in five categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality.