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Recently, PepsiCo answered written questions from CR4 about engineering-related
aspects of its environmental sustainability program. Today's installment is the
first in a three-part series. Part 2 will run tomorrow. Part 3 will run on
Wednesday.
CR4: The U.S. Green
Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program
awarded LEED Gold Status to the
Gatorade Blue Ridge facility in Wytheville, Virginia and the Gatorade Tolleson facility in Arizona. Why did these
facilities achieve this status?
PepsiCo: The
LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for
evaluating sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere
efficiency, material and resource selection and indoor environmental quality. Actions
that contribute to achieving LEED certification include:
- Energy
and environmental optimization
- Maximize
the use of water supply
- Water
saving features such as low flow lavatory faucets with automatic sensors
- Optimize
wastewater treatment efficiency
- Energy-saving
measures such as high-efficiency boilers, water heaters, control systems,
light, reflective roofing
- Efficient
landscaping such as using drought tolerant plant materials
- Use of
furniture with recycled materials in office areas
- Encourage
use of Hybrid cars with reserved parking spaces
- Respect
for the ecosystem and habitat during site planning and development
- Recycling
of construction material
- Educational
component telling the story of LEED mission
The Gatorade Thirst Quencher Blue Ridge facility in Wytheville, VA
has Gold Level status, and at 950,000 square feet is the largest food and
beverage site in the world to achieve this designation. The plant's design
includes energy optimization technologies such as high-efficiency boilers,
water heaters and calibrated control systems. Specifically, the Wytheville facility
was cited for three things:
- Design
to drive energy and environmental optimization. This includes maximizing
the use of supply water and optimizing wastewater treatment efficiency.
The facility installed state-of-the-art energy saving measures such as
high-efficiency boilers, water heaters and HVAC equipment with calibrated
control systems.
- Top
priority on ecosystem and habitat during site planning and developing.
Half of the facilities 135 acres were returned to the natural state to
promote biodiversity.
- Educational
component – The facility has a display of 20 of the key LEED components in
the facility and includes permanent posters that tell the story of the
LEED mission and describe the environmental, economic and social benefits
of the facility.
There are many ways the plant encourages employees to support the environment,
including having parking for bicycles, special parking for carpools and hybrid
vehicles.
Editor's Note: Part 2 of this series will run tomorrow,
right here on CR4.
To see PepsiCo
Environmental Sustainability in action, visit: http://www.pepsico.com/PEP_Citizenship/EnvironmentalNews/video/index.cfm
Steve Melito - The Y Files
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