PLANO, Texas, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo's Frito-Lay Beloit, Wis., facility today became the state's first food manufacturing site to be awarded LEED® for Existing Buildings 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.

"Frito-Lay Beloit has won several national and state accolades this year for our sustainability efforts," said Michael Stahl, technical manager, Frito-Lay Beloit. "It's because of our associates' dedication to conservation that we have been able to transform this 37-year-old-building into a LEED Gold certified site."

"PepsiCo's Frito-Lay business unit now has five LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certified manufacturing facilities, and 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.

To achieve LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certification, the company's Beloit sustainability strategy included implementing a number of green design and construction features, water reduction technologies and practices, as well as improved waste management.  With these strategies in place, Frito-Lay Beloit has reduced its dependence on natural gas by 35%, electricity by 20% and water by 50% per pound of finished product since 2000.  

Frito-Lay Beloit is a leader in the execution of waste heat recovery technologies that have reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% over the last five years.  Recovered waste heat from its tortilla and potato chips processes is used for various cleaning and process applications, and heats more than 80% of the facility during winter months.  

The Beloit facility recycles or reuses nearly 99% of the facility's waste, sending only approximately 1% of its wastes to landfill.  

Frito-Lay Beloit is a recognized sustainability leader. It has received the Manufacturer of the Year Grand Sustainability Award for the State of Wisconsin in 2010 and has been named by the EPA as a Waste Wise Partner of the Year.  Other recognitions include a Wisconsin Clean Air Award and the Wisconsin Governor's Award for leadership in greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Frito-Lay North America now has six LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certified buildings, including its corporate headquarters in Plano, Texas, and five manufacturing facilities in Casa Grande, Ariz., Topeka, Kan., Perry, Ga., Modesto, Calif., and now Beloit, Wis.

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.  

Frito-Lay North America

Frito-Lay North America is the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY.  Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, http://www.fritolay.com/ , the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com/ and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.

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. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE Frito-Lay North America