Snack Chat

Going Green: Celebrating Eco Week at Frito-Lay

It’s easy being green -- especially here at Frito-Lay. You've probably read about some of our sustainability initiatives here on Snack Chat including our "near net zero" plant in Casa Grande, Ariz., and our "Green Fleet" partnership. Last week, we hosted Eco Week at the Frito-Lay heaquarters where employees got a firsthand look at a variety of “green” activities.

Over the course of the week, our associates attended sessions on composting, gardening and energy and water conservation at home, as well as learned best practices for bringing our manufacturing plants’ commitment to "near-zero landfill” to life across our sites. There was even an on-site farmer’s market with locally sourced food, produce and other goods for sale.

The closing event was an Eco Fair featuring nearly 40 booths showcasing eco-friendly vendors and employee teams offering information (and free samples!) about products and services that can contribute toward “greener” living. 

I had the opportunity to check out the fair, and a few of the vendors I visited included:

• Water Select – a company that makes reduced flow valves for shower heads to help conserve water (and save you a few bucks on your water bills!)
• Greenling – an organic grocery delivery service that brings fresh, healthy and sustainable food right to your doorstep
• Green Mountain Energy Company – an energy provider that uses 100 percent renewable energy sources (wind, sun and water)  to generate electricity
• The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas – a center for agriculture research that offered us a lot of great information on sustainable gardening and outdoor water efficiency
• FoamMyWalls.com– a company that installs injectable wall foam insulation into homes, which can save up to 50 percent on energy bills

I walked away with a few items (pictured above) and a ton of ideas for ways I can leave behind a greener footprint. The best part was seeing so many fellow associates engaging with the vendors and showing a genuine interest in ways to live more sustainably. It shows that we really do talk the talk and walk the walk around here at Frito-Lay.

How are you celebrating Earth Day? Leave a comment below to let me know!

- Sara

One Million Miles - It's Electrifying!

In the fall of 2010, Frito-Lay started adding all-electric trucks to our route delivery fleet, reducing fuel usage and costs, tailpipe emissions and greenhouse gas. In the spring of 2011, we joined President Obama's National Clean Fleets Partnership and commited to further reduce our vehicles’ diesel and gas use. This month, our fleet of 176 all-electric trucks celebrated a huge milestone -- one million miles driven! This achievement means our all-electric fleet has eliminated the need of approximately 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel. In 2012, we will add 100 more all-electric trucks which will help reduce our fuel consumption by 500,000 gallons a year. 

But that's not all... we've also introduced 67 C.N.G. trucks as part of our tractor-trailer fleet system. C.N.G stands for compressed natural gas, and the addition of these vehicles is another step in the right direction as we make progress on our environmental sustainability journey. Each C.N.G. truck will emit 23 percent less greenhouse gas compared to a diesel truck. With the addition of these trucks, Frito-Lay will eliminate more than 900,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually!

We are excited to continue to move towards our goal of a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2017, and look forward to sharing our progress with you here on Snack Chat!

- Kristin

Frito-Lay Prepares For Earth Day With a Farmer's Market

It's been an unseasonably cold and rainy day today here at Frito-Lay headquarters in Plano, Texas, but that didn't stop some employees from "shopping local" at a Farmer's Market hosted in our campus' outdoor atrium. We are involved with many "green" initiatives as an organization, and with Earth Day just around the corner on Sunday, this event was a great way to end the workweek while keeping the environment top of mind. 

Having been out of town earlier this week, I was happy to save a drive to the grocery store and picked up some great looking fruits and vegetables. Other food vendors were selling jams and jellies (I couldn't resist purchasing a jar of hot pepper jelly), honey, spices, cakes, breads, tamales, oils and vinegars - all made right here in the Dallas metroplex. Homemade arts and crafts, jewelry, dog treats, candles and soaps were also available for purchase. Check out the pictures below and let me know in the comments if you have any plans for Earth Day!

- Joe

PepsiCo Employees Help Improve Access to Clean Water in Ghana

The Wall Street Journal this week highlighted several large corporations, including PepsiCo, that are "doing good to do well" by sending small teams of employees to developing countries around the world. As part of our inaugural PepsiCorps program, eight international PepsiCo employees late last year traveled to Ghana for a month to help improve access to clean water and raise consciousness about hygiene and sanitation.

The eight PepsiCorps team members represented six countries and six functions across PepsiCo. One team member, Deepali Palta (pictured at right), is based in Plano, Texas, as part of the PepsiCo Advanced Research department. I recently had the chance to sit down with Deepali to discuss her trip to Ghana and the work she did there helping engage community members from the country's Ketu South District in support of PepsiCo's water sustainability goals. In a brief audio podcast posted below, Deepali explains how she and her fellow team members completed several projects, including teaching school children and exposing them to different cultures, and what she takes away from her time in Ghana.

Listen to the podcast, and read more from the PepsiCorps' team on PepsiCo's Living the Promise blog.

Deepali Palta Podcast

- Michael

Hey America, What Are You Recycling Today?

In case you didn't know, today is the 13th annual America Recycles Day, part of the Keep America Beautiful program and the only nationally recognized day dedicated to educating and encouraging Americans to recycle. It fits that this "holiday" would stand out to me for two reasons: I'm an avid recycler at home (despite my fiancé's eye rolls as I pull apart packaging to separate plastic from recyclable material), and at Frito-Lay, we've prioritized "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" as a key strategy to support our commitment to environmental sustainability -- and we've been doing so for more than a decade!

You may have read here on Snack Chat about our accomplishments to reduce, reuse and recycle at Frito-Lay and PepsiCo, our parent company. We've blogged about how our frontline teams reuse the shipping cartons used to transport our snacks to retail outlets at least five times before the cardboard is recycled -- saving 120,000 tons of paperboard a year. At our more than 30 U.S. manufacturing plants, we've created "GreenTeams," groups of employees responsible for resource conservation and recycling programs at their site -- and boy are they passionate about the environment and making big strides to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Our biggest milestone to-date occurred just last month, when we unveiled our first "Near Net Zero" facility at our Casa Grande, Ariz., plant, where we set out on a mission to transform one of our existing manufacturing facilities into one that could run primarily on renewable energy sources and recycled water, while producing nearly zero waste (hence the term, “Near Net Zero”). Check out a quick video highlighting the achievements at our Casa Grande site.

As Americans celebrate America Recycles Day this year by attending one of the many events hosted around the country -- or just by walking a few extra feet to the recycling bin at lunch -- I'm sitting here at Frito-Lay headquarters, proud to work for a company that celebrates recycling year-round.

What are you doing to reduce, reuse and recycle?

- Kristin