Solar Power Keeps Frito-Lay In Hot Water

Company Installs Solar Water Heater at Headquarters to Help Lower Energy Costs

Frito-Lay North America, a business unit of PepsiCo, is installing a solar thermal water heating system on its headquarters’ roof to help lower rising energy costs and reduce its reliance on electricity when heating water. The system uses the sun’s light to heat more than 65-percent of the hot water used in select areas of the building including the headquarters’ kitchen and dish room. Installing the solar water heater also moves the facility a step closer to obtaining Gold-level LEED certification, a designation from the U.S. Green Building Council that recognizes achievements in energy efficiency and resource conservation.

“Frito-Lay’s newly installed solar water heater is a big step the company is taking to counter rising energy costs and reduce its environmental footprint,” said George Guck, group manager of site operations, Frito-Lay North America. “By harnessing the power of the sun, Frito-Lay can do what’s best for the planet and the business, and obtain LEED certification along the way.”

Frito-Lay hired Dallas-based Class One Solutions to design and manage the installation of the EnerWorks solar thermal system.

By the end of the year, Frito-Lay expects to reduce its energy consumption for hot water at its 550,000 square-foot Plano headquarters by 175,000 KWH, and prevent the emission of nearly 200,000 pounds of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Frito-Lay headquarters associates are contributing to the LEED certification efforts with a variety of environmental initiatives including increased focus on recycling, conserving energy and reducing waste. One initiative to encourage employees to “power down” their workstations resulted in an energy consumption reduction of more than 46,000 KWH in one month.

Frito-Lay plans to reduce its headquarters energy consumption by 3 million KWH this year by upgrading its HVAC and lighting systems. With these upgrades in place, Frito-Lay estimates the 24-year-old headquarters building will be LEED certified by summer 2009.

Since 1999 Frito-Lay has implemented resource conservation programs nationally that utilize innovative programs to reduce the resources needed to make its products. Commitment to sustainable growth is a core Frito-Lay value, as it is for parent company, PepsiCo, which aims to achieve Performance with Purpose.