Lays, Tostitos, Sunchips, Cheetos and other snacks will soon be produced with almost no net impact on the planet. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about their impact on your waistline.
When fighting for corporate sustainability and social responsibility, it's important to celebrate the milestones. While few companies have or will achieved perfection, just the fact that they're constantly striving for improvement is a victory in itself.
That's why we're impressed with the latest announcement from snack giant Frito-Lay: On Wednesday, the company will unveil its most ambitious sustainability project to date by announcing that its Casa Grande, Ariz. facility has reached 75 percent net zero waste.
Dubbed "Near Net Zero," this is an important achievement in the company's mission to achieve a truly "off-grid" facility. Using innovative technologies, the Casa Grande facility has reached significant reductions, including:
- 50% reduction of greenhouse gases
- 75% of water is recycled
- 80% reduction in the use of natural gas
- 50% reduction in annual electricity load
Pretty impressive for a 25 year old building, huh?
Making over 150 million of America’s favorite snacks a year, the company chose the Casa Grande for “Near Net Zero” status because of its location, where sunlight is plentiful and water conservation is vital, and for its size – big enough to be impactful yet small enough to be manageable.
“As a company, Frito-Lay’s main goal has always been sustainable growth over the long term. Yet we are faced with the reality that the very resources we depend on to make America’s favorite snacks may be scarce or prohibitively expensive in the future,” explains Al Carey, past president and CEO, Frito-Lay North America. “While that may be years away, the best way to ensure sustainable growth for our business and be responsible to our stakeholders, is to invest in and investigate solutions for tomorrow’s problems today.”
View more images from the "Near Net Zero" plant by clicking on the thumbnails below:
