In the News
Frito-Lay Plant Reduces Waste to Near Zero
Frito-Lay North America’s Casa Grande, Ariz., reached its “near net zero” goal of running primarily on renewable energy sources, including the production of nearly zero landfill waste.
The PepsiCo division called it the division’s most ambitious environmental sustainability project: Take an existing facility “off the grid” and as much as possible run primarily on renewable energy sources and recycled water. Frito-Lay applied a combination of technologies to allow the Casa Grande plant to significantly reduce the use of key natural resources and reduce the site's overall environmental footprint. The facility is generating two-thirds of all energy used from renewable sources and is working toward a 50-percent reduction in greenhouse gases; recycling 75 percent of its water; and reducing its natural gas consumption by 80 percent, Frito-Lay said in a news release.
U. of Michigan Committing Nearly $100 million to Sustainability
The University of Michigan will invest $14 million on green initiatives, part of a larger commitment of nearly $100 million for sustainability.
Solid waste components of the plan include a call to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by 40 percent.
In the university’s latest commitment, it will spend $14 million on hybrid buses, solar panels and funding for students to find ways to conserve resources. This is on top of committing to spend $64 million in construction, including energy efficient buildings, and $20 million in sustainability efforts with core operations, the university said in a press release.
