Conservation Corp.
PepsiCo continues to distinguish itself from others through its corporate culture of water efficiency and environmental sustainability.
An offshoot of the EPA’s
WaterSense program, the Water Efficiency Leader Awards were designed to promote
“a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, which is critical to helping our
growing economy and improving our quality of life.” Just as WaterSense—which was
started in 2006—is dedicated to educating the public on “smart water choices,”
the Water Efficiency Leader Awards honors individuals, private companies,
government agencies, and non-profits for their efforts in reducing, reusing, and
recycling water. Out of a pool of 130 applicants, six winners were chosen. For
their efforts in reducing, reusing, and recycling water, the EPA named PepsiCo
one their 2008 Water Efficiency Leaders.
“It really is a great honor,” says
Beth Sauerhaft. She is the senior manager of environmental stewardship in the
supply chain of Pepsi-Cola North America
Beverages. “The EPA doesn’t give
out awards lightly, so if PepsiCo has gotten it, it’s because we’ve really made
some noteworthy reductions in our water usage.”
Nominated in the industrial
category, PepsiCo in Purchase, New York—which encompasses the name brands of
Tropicana, Gatorade, Quaker, Frito-Lay (a 2007 Water Efficiency Leader winner),
and Pepsi-Cola North America—was honored for its exemplary water efficiency
practices, which include:
- Water reuse through onsite wastewater/process water reclamation
- Water efficiency through process optimization and process alteration
- Modifying maintenance tasks
- Procuring key materials that are delivered more water efficiently
- Top down corporate commitment with bottom-up reporting and growing a
corporate knowledge base, able to be shared across all brands
The company is working toward its
target goal of water consumption reduction per unit of production by 20% by
2015. Thus far, the company has saved 800 million gallons of water domestically
and two billion internationally.
“What stands out to me, and what I
assume what stood out to the judges, was the completeness by which they are
looking across all of their brands—Tropicana, Gatorade, and so forth,” says Bob
Rose, policy analyst for EPA’s water office. “They are putting into place the
corporate cultural ethic of water efficiency from a high level, including
baseline monitoring and tracking and information-sharing processes across
PepsiCo, through an Internet environment where they are able to get across all
their brands a lot of integration on knowledge, techniques, and know-how, as
well as each group contributing to its local water efficiency goal towards the
larger PepsiCo goal.”
 |
Photo: PepsiCo
These photos are of a Gatorade plant in Dallas TX. This line uses the new
dry lube technology, which saves water.
|
 |
Photo: PepsiCo
Water was used to lubricate the conveyor belt; note the water on the floor
of the plant. |
Treating and reusing wastewater
produces one of the ways in which the company has reduced its water usage onsite
for the manufacturing process (not in the product itself). The company also was
noted for its implementation of dry lube technology in its manufacturing
process.
“We originally used water to move
our bottles along the conveyer belt,” says Sauerhaft. “We’ve replaced that in
many places with a food grade dry material. It still lubricates the line and
reduces the friction so things can move along better.”
The company also has modified
maintenance tasks to create water efficiencies and ensure employees are engaging
in ongoing monitoring of opportunities for reducing water loss or water usage.
Company spokesperson Dave DeCecco says that at the company’s Gatorade plant in
Dallas, TX, front-line employees were encouraged to look for random water leaks
and other areas that could yield water efficiency improvements. Incentives—such
as gift cards—were offered to employees who promote the best ideas.
“It’s a way to get the whole
organization involved and, in some cases, looking for the lowest-hanging fruit
by seeking ways to improve the water efficiency at the plant,” says DeCecco.
Another measure the company has
instituted is looking at tank wash intervals for products such as the high
fructose corn syrup. “We were looking at whether we could change the frequency
with which tankers are sanitized while still maintaining the food grade quality
of the product,” says Sauerhaft. “It was determined that we could extend the
interval, reduce water usage, and still have that food-grade, high-quality
product.”
PepsiCo is committed to
“performance with purpose,” a philosophy embedded in the global corporate
culture that tracks environmental, human, and talent sustainability, notes
Sauerhaft.
“We’re committed to operating in
such a way that means we’re not only saving money, but we’re also reducing our
impact on the environment and we’re concerned about human sustainability and
talent sustainability,” she says. “It’s a win-win way to do businesses. That’s
started at the corporate level and filters down, but at the same time, this
corporate culture is becoming so infused in the company that we have folks down
in our plant who are looking for opportunities on how they can reduce water
usage while maintaining that top quality product PepsiCo is known for.”
Another key factor in the approach
is knowledge sharing among the various brands and divisions. “If Gatorade has
implemented a new technology and sees that it works, there’s a lot of sharing
across the brands to see if it will work elsewhere, too,” adds Sauerhaft.
Advertisement
The EPA’s goal in naming water
efficiency leaders is to point to the many roles water efficiency plays in
overall sustainability, says Rose.
“There
is a tremendous need for water efficiency,” he states. “Water efficiency plays a
role at reducing the stress on our existing drinking and wastewater systems.
There’s a very large backlog of water-related projects that need to be funded,
and every time we use water efficiency to reduce the demand for water, we are
sustaining ourselves this capital cost.”
Author's Bio: Journalist Carol Brzozowski lives in Coral Springs, FL.
May-June 2009
Conservation Corp.
PepsiCo continues to distinguish itself from others through its corporate culture of water efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Photo: @iStockphoto.com
An offshoot of the EPA’s
WaterSense program, the Water Efficiency Leader Awards were designed to promote
“a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, which is critical to helping our
growing economy and improving our quality of life.” Just as WaterSense—which was
started in 2006—is dedicated to educating the public on “smart water choices,”
the Water Efficiency Leader Awards honors individuals, private companies,
government agencies, and non-profits for their efforts in reducing, reusing, and
recycling water. Out of a pool of 130 applicants, six winners were chosen. For
their efforts in reducing, reusing, and recycling water, the EPA named PepsiCo
one their 2008 Water Efficiency Leaders.
“It really is a great honor,” says
Beth Sauerhaft. She is the senior manager of environmental stewardship in the
supply chain of Pepsi-Cola North America
Beverages. “The EPA doesn’t give
out awards lightly, so if PepsiCo has gotten it, it’s because we’ve really made
some noteworthy reductions in our water usage.”
Nominated in the industrial
category, PepsiCo in Purchase, New York—which encompasses the name brands of
Tropicana, Gatorade, Quaker, Frito-Lay (a 2007 Water Efficiency Leader winner),
and Pepsi-Cola North America—was honored for its exemplary water efficiency
practices, which include:
- Water reuse through onsite wastewater/process water reclamation
- Water efficiency through process optimization and process alteration
- Modifying maintenance tasks
- Procuring key materials that are delivered more water efficiently
- Top down corporate commitment with bottom-up reporting and growing a
corporate knowledge base, able to be shared across all brands
The company is working toward its
target goal of water consumption reduction per unit of production by 20% by
2015. Thus far, the company has saved 800 million gallons of water domestically
and two billion internationally.
“What stands out to me, and what I
assume what stood out to the judges, was the completeness by which they are
looking across all of their brands—Tropicana, Gatorade, and so forth,” says Bob
Rose, policy analyst for EPA’s water office. “They are putting into place the
corporate cultural ethic of water efficiency from a high level, including
baseline monitoring and tracking and information-sharing processes across
PepsiCo, through an Internet environment where they are able to get across all
their brands a lot of integration on knowledge, techniques, and know-how, as
well as each group contributing to its local water efficiency goal towards the
larger PepsiCo goal.”
|
Photo: PepsiCo
These photos are of a Gatorade plant in Dallas TX. This line uses the new
dry lube technology, which saves water.
|
|
Photo: PepsiCo
Water was used to lubricate the conveyor belt; note the water on the floor
of the plant. |
Treating and reusing wastewater
produces one of the ways in which the company has reduced its water usage onsite
for the manufacturing process (not in the product itself). The company also was
noted for its implementation of dry lube technology in its manufacturing
process.
“We originally used water to move
our bottles along the conveyer belt,” says Sauerhaft. “We’ve replaced that in
many places with a food grade dry material. It still lubricates the line and
reduces the friction so things can move along better.”
The company also has modified
maintenance tasks to create water efficiencies and ensure employees are engaging
in ongoing monitoring of opportunities for reducing water loss or water usage.
Company spokesperson Dave DeCecco says that at the company’s Gatorade plant in
Dallas, TX, front-line employees were encouraged to look for random water leaks
and other areas that could yield water efficiency improvements. Incentives—such
as gift cards—were offered to employees who promote the best ideas.
“It’s a way to get the whole
organization involved and, in some cases, looking for the lowest-hanging fruit
by seeking ways to improve the water efficiency at the plant,” says DeCecco.
Another measure the company has
instituted is looking at tank wash intervals for products such as the high
fructose corn syrup. “We were looking at whether we could change the frequency
with which tankers are sanitized while still maintaining the food grade quality
of the product,” says Sauerhaft. “It was determined that we could extend the
interval, reduce water usage, and still have that food-grade, high-quality
product.”
PepsiCo is committed to
“performance with purpose,” a philosophy embedded in the global corporate
culture that tracks environmental, human, and talent sustainability, notes
Sauerhaft.
“We’re committed to operating in
such a way that means we’re not only saving money, but we’re also reducing our
impact on the environment and we’re concerned about human sustainability and
talent sustainability,” she says. “It’s a win-win way to do businesses. That’s
started at the corporate level and filters down, but at the same time, this
corporate culture is becoming so infused in the company that we have folks down
in our plant who are looking for opportunities on how they can reduce water
usage while maintaining that top quality product PepsiCo is known for.”
Another key factor in the approach
is knowledge sharing among the various brands and divisions. “If Gatorade has
implemented a new technology and sees that it works, there’s a lot of sharing
across the brands to see if it will work elsewhere, too,” adds Sauerhaft.
The EPA’s goal in naming water
efficiency leaders is to point to the many roles water efficiency plays in
overall sustainability, says Rose.
“There
is a tremendous need for water efficiency,” he states. “Water efficiency plays a
role at reducing the stress on our existing drinking and wastewater systems.
There’s a very large backlog of water-related projects that need to be funded,
and every time we use water efficiency to reduce the demand for water, we are
sustaining ourselves this capital cost.”