Nestle Waters North America's Nestle Pure Life water bottling facility in Breinigsville, Pa., on June 5 officially received the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. This is the first food manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania to receive LEED Gold status.
LEED is an internationally recognized certification system that measures how well a building performs across various sustainability metrics, including energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction and stewardship of resources.
Nestle Waters North America is the leading U.S. food and beverage manufacturer in LEED plants. In 2003, the company received the first LEED certification in the U.S. for a food and beverage factory for its plant in Stanwood, Mich. To date, Nestle Waters has the most LEED-certified facilities of any U.S. food and beverage manufacturer, with more than 2.5 million square feet designed and built to meet LEED certification.
"Sustainability is a world-wide issue, one that we must face as global partners. At the U.S. Green Building Council, we're seeing a growing demand and commitment to sustainability, and it's wonderful to see the LEED rating system embraced beyond the United States," said Tim Cole, chair-elect of the U.S. Green Building Council's Board of Directors. "As a company with global ties, Nestle Waters North America's proven commitment to LEED certification shows its leadership in environmentally-responsible operations."
"We are honored to achieve the LEED Gold standard - our first and hopefully not our last," said Kim Jeffery, president and CEO of Nestle Waters North America, which has committed to building all new plants to LEED certification standards. "We are committed to being thoughtful and responsible in every aspect of our business, from source to bottle. We have more to do, and we are excited to continue our journey toward more sustainable operations."
Thanks to its environmentally conscious design, the Nestle Pure Life facility in Breinigsville:
· Saves 9.9 billion BTU's of energy each year, which is enough energy to heat 125 homes for a season
· Conserves approximately 220,000 gallons of water a year, which is 55 percent better than the Environmental Protection Agency requirement
· Reduced construction waste by approximately 75 percent, or the equivalent weight of 2,300 cars
In addition, the Nestle Pure Life facility will offset its energy usage for two years through its Renewable Energy Certificate purchase from Choose Renewables, which will allow the facility to displace its non-renewable sources of energy from the electric grid and instead fund wind power operations.
In addition to the Breinigsville location, the company currently operates five LEED-certified facilities across the country:
· Madison County, Fla. (Silver rating, 2006)
· Red Boiling Springs, Tenn. (Silver rating, 2005)
· Cabazon, Calif. (Silver rating, 2004) – first food manufacturing facility to earn a silver rating
· Hawkins, Texas (Silver rating, 2004)
· Stanwood, Mich. (full LEED Certification, 2003) – first food and beverage manufacturing facility to earn LEED certification
Three additional Nestle Waters North America plants are currently under review for LEED status.
Since 2002, Nestle Waters' LEED-certified plants have produced significant environmental benefits:
· 9 million gallons of water conserved
· 1.5 million kWH of energy conserved
· 2.1 million pounds of carbon emissions reduced
· 216 million pounds of waste reduced
· 108,000 tons of solid waste diverted from landfills
About Nestle Waters North America
Central to the leadership of Nestle Waters North America Inc. is its 33-year history and single-focus on producing bottled water products. The company's dedication to product quality, manufacturing expertise, employee development and environmental stewardship, especially in the areas of water use, energy and packaging, has helped Nestle Waters become the No. 1 bottled water company in the U.S.