PepsiCo's Frito-Lay Perry, Ga., facility on August 24 became the state's first building to be awarded LEED for Existing Buildings (EB) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), as verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
"Achieving LEED EB Gold certification is a major achievement on an already stellar year here at Frito-Lay Perry, which was named Georgia's Manufacturer of the Year," said Craig Hoffman, technical manager, Frito-Lay Perry. "Our associates and business partners worked diligently to enable our 22-year-old facility to be recognized nationally as an environmentally-friendly site. It makes it even more special that we are the first facility to receive this award in the state, and we can assist others in their pursuit of minimizing their environmental footprint."
"PepsiCo's Frito-Lay business unit is leading the way in helping USGBC realize our vision of a sustainably-built environment within a generation," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "This is the company's fourth LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certified building and others are on track to become members of the LEED family of green buildings."
To achieve LEED EB Gold certification, the company's Perry sustainability strategy included implementing a number of green design and construction features, water reduction technologies and practices, as well as improved waste management.
Energy reduction: The Perry facility has reduced its natural gas consumption by 35 percent and its electricity use by 27 percent per pound of product since 2000 by implementing changes such as installing waste heat recovery boilers, improved maintenance systems, and upgraded oven burners.
Water reduction: The facility has reduced its water consumption by 38 percent per pound of product since 2000 through a company-wide low water corn cook process, and installing low-flow solar-powered faucets and flush valves. Also, none of the site's process wastewater goes to the sewer; 100 percent of the process wastewater is used to irrigate the facility's massive 1,500-acre lot.
Recycling: As of July 2010, less than 1 percent of the Perry facility's solid waste goes to landfill. The site has achieved this through an employee-led plastic recycling program reusing cardboard shipping boxes multiple times, and allocating waste product for use in animal feed.
Frito-Lay Perry has earned numerous industry awards in the past two years, including Georgia's Manufacturer of the Year and a consistent rating by OSHA as one of the Safest Workplaces in North America, a classification achieved by less than 1 percent of all U.S. facilities in every industry.
Frito-Lay Perry has been a part of the Houston County community for more than 20 years and employs more than 1,300 associates. The nearly 990,000 square foot building sits on 1,500 acres of land. Frito-Lay Perry produces some of America's favorite snacks including Lay's and Ruffles potato chips, Fritos corn chips, Tostitos tortilla chips, Doritos tortilla chips, and SunChips multigrain snacks.
Frito-Lay North America now has four LEED EB Gold certified buildings, including its corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas, and three manufacturing facilities in Casa Grande, Ariz., Topeka, Kan., and now Perry, Ga.
About the U.S. Green Building Council
The USGBC community is transforming the way we build, design and operate our buildings for healthier places that save precious resources for people to live, work, learn and play in. USGBC is helping create buildings and communities that regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Council is the driving force of the green building industry, which is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product by 2013. USGBC leads a diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials, concerned citizens, teachers and students. The USGBC community comprises 80 local chapters, 17,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 150,000 individuals who have earned LEED Professional Credentials. Visit www.usgbc.org for more information.
About Frito-Lay North America
Frito-Lay North America is the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo, which is headquartered in Purchase, N.Y. PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Its main businesses – Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade – also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks for consumers in more than 200 countries.