Chipping in for a “greener” future, Frito-Lay North America’s snack manufacturing facility in Casa Grande, Ariz., is the company’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold snack unit—a remarkable achievement in its own right. But the plant, which Frito-Lay calls its Near Net Zero project showcase, is also the result of a highly ambitious sustainability project that took the location “off the grids,” running primarily on renewable energy sources and recycled water, while producing zero landfill waste. The plant could be the most sustainable food production facility of its kind in the U.S.
All of Frito-Lay’s 40 plants in the U.S. and Canada have since developed their own Near Net Zero (NNZ) plan, but not all can achieve what the company was able to do at this site, which Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery toured in July.