June 18, 2008

Sustainability And Economy Behind Plant Renovations

Companies don’t just renovate their plants for safety reasons anymore. Sustainability and energy efficiency are increasingly becoming the reasons for major operation overhauls, foodprocessing.com reports.

Another major incentive is that smaller companies are part of larger companies’ supply chains and can’t play with the big boys if they can’t show their own corporate social responsibility.

Aside from trimming down operation costs by adding hybrids to fleets and changing light bulbs, national programs like LEED, Energy Star and government programs like the DOE’s Save Energy Now program are playing increasingly important roles in encouraging companies to revamp their ops.

Results from a survey conducted last year found reduced energy use the No.1 goal for companies with sustainability initiatives.

Sixty-four percent of food and beverage companies had some sustainability goals in place. Sixty-four percent of companies with more than 10,000 employees have sustainability goals. On the other hand, only 40 percent of private companies and 28 percent of food companies with fewer than 100 employees, have sustainability goals.

Big retailers are well on the way to economizing their operations. Office Depot, Best Buy, and Target are just three of the many retailers interested in LEED-certified prototype stores.

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