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Nestlé Waters North America facility earns gold standard for sustainability
Nestlé Waters North America’s Nestlé Pure Life water bottling facility in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, has received the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) gold certification.
Leed is an internationally recognised certification system that measures how well a building performs across various sustainability metrics, including energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, and stewardship of resources. The Nestlé Pure Life water bottling facility is the first food manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania to receive Leed gold status.
Nestlé Waters North America is the leading US food and beverage manufacturer in Leed plants. In 2003, the company received the first Leed certification in the US for a food and beverage factory for its plant in Stanwood, Michigan. To date, Nestlé Waters has the most Leed-certified facilities of any US food and beverage manufacturer, with more than 2.5 million square feet designed and built to meet Leed certification.
“Sustainability is a worldwide issue, one that we must face as global partners,” said Tim Cole, chair-elect of the US Green Building Council’s board of directors. “At the US Green Building Council, we’re seeing a growing demand and commitment to sustainability, and it’s wonderful to see the Leed rating system embraced beyond the US. As a company with global ties, Nestlé Waters North America’s proven commitment to Leed certification shows its leadership in environmentally responsible operations.”
“We’re honored to achieve the Leed Gold standard – our first and hopefully not our last,” said Kim Jeffery, president and CEO of Nestlé Waters North America, which has committed to building all new plants to Leed certification standards. “We are committed to being thoughtful and responsible in every aspect of our business, from source to bottle. We have more to do, and we’re excited to continue our journey towards more sustainable operations.”
Thanks to its environmentally conscious design, the Nestlé Pure Life facility in Breinigsville:
- Saves 9.9 billion BTUs of energy each year, which is enough energy to heat 125 homes for a season.
- Conserves approximately 220,000 gallons of water a year, which is 55% better than the Environmental Protection Agency requirement.
- Reduced construction waste by approximately 75%, or the equivalent weight of 2,300 cars.
Wind power
In addition, the Nestlé Pure Life facility will offset its energy usage for two years through its Renewable Energy Certificate purchase from Choose Renewables, which will allow the facility to displace its non-renewable sources of energy from the electric grid and instead fund wind power operations.
In addition to the Breinigsville location, the company currently operates five Leed-certified facilities across the country:
- Madison County, Florida (Silver rating, 2006)
- Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee (Silver rating, 2005)
- Cabazon, California (Silver rating, 2004) – first food manufacturing facility to earn a silver rating
- Hawkins, Texas (Silver rating, 2004)
- Stanwood, Michigan (full Leed Certification, 2003) – first food and beverage manufacturing facility to earn Leed certification.
Three additional Nestlé Waters North America plants are currently under review for Leed status.
Since 2002, Nestlé Waters’ Leed-certified plants have produced significant environmental benefits:
- 9 million gallons of water conserved
- 1.5 million kWH of energy conserved
- 2.1 million pounds of carbon emissions reduced
- 216 million pounds of waste reduced
- 108,000 tonnes of solid waste diverted from landfills.
Source: Nestlé Waters North America Inc
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