October 14, 2011—In its mission statement, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay has said that “in order to make the best snacks on earth, we must protect the earth.” The recent announcement that the company celebrated its most ambitious environmental sustainability project to-date—its Casa Grande, Arizona facility has reached “near net zero”—shows that Frito-Lay is as passionate about sustainability as it is about the wide array of products it offers.
Using innovative technologies, the Casa Grande facility is generating two-thirds of all energy used from renewable sources and is working toward significant reductions. It has made strong headway in the following areas:
- Water Reduction: The Casa Grande facility installed a water recovery and reuse system that combines Membrane Bio Reactor and Low-Pressure Reverse Osmosis technologies to recycle from 50% to 75% of water.
- Electricity Reduction: Five separate and distinct solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, installed throughout the property, produce nearly 10 million kilowatt-hours of electrical power. Two solar fields of single axis tracking PV systems with more than 18,000 solar panels were installed on 36 acres of the facility’s agriculture property. The three additional PV fields installed by the plant include a dual-axis tracking system, a single-axis covered parking lot, and 10 sterling engine dual-axis tracking systems.
- Natural Gas Reduction: The newly installed 60,000 pounds per hour biomass boiler, which uses wood and agricultural waste as its combustion energy source, will produce all the steam needed for the manufacturing plant and will reduce natural gas usage by over 80%.
- Zero Landfill: As of 2010, the Casa Grande facility sends less than 1% of its overall waste to landfills through extensive recycling and using food waste for cattle feed.
- Electricity Reduction: Five separate and distinct solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, installed throughout the property, produce nearly 10 million kilowatt-hours of electrical power. Two solar fields of single axis tracking PV systems with more than 18,000 solar panels were installed on 36 acres of the facility’s agriculture property. The three additional PV fields installed by the plant include a dual-axis tracking system, a single-axis covered parking lot, and 10 sterling engine dual-axis tracking systems.
Company officials within Frito-Lay say that moving forward, it will leverage key lessons from the Casa Grande plant and apply them to other facilities where appropriate. Every Frito-Lay plant is reportedly identifying projects and approaches to get closer to “near net zero” and to significantly reduce its environmental footprint.
