KETTLE CHIPS GETS GOLD MEDAL FOR GREEN BUILDING

This new factory is an impressive example of what can be done when the commitment to what is really important is there.

Kettle Chips Wins Leeds Gold With Wind, Sod And More
Paul Schaefer, October 25, 2007 (Environmental News Network)

WHO
Kettle Foods of North America (Tim Fallon, president); The U.S. Green Building Council/Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (Connie Lindholm, Executive Director); Aerovironment

A habitable public space in the new Kettle Foods plant. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
The new Kettle Foods plant was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold level certification as the greenest food manufacturing plant in the U.S.

WHEN
- Kettle was founded in 1978. The award-winning plant is presently operational.
- 2006: Kettle Foods offset 100% of its annual electricity use with renewable wind power.

WHERE
- Beloit, Wisconsin
- Kettle Foods all-natural Kettle™ brand Potato Chips account for nearly half the growth in the potato chip category.

WHY
- The award recognizes a commitment to minimizing the factory’s environmental footprint and creating a great work environment for employees with the best possible physical space and indoor air quality.
- The new 73,000 square foot potato chip facility: 18 wind turbines on the factory’s roof and other wind to offset 100% of electricity use, filtering and reusing 1.65 potato wash water, premium, high efficiency equipment to cut natural gas/electricity use, recycling cooking oil into biodiesel, 5 acres of native prairie land restoration, obtaining 35 percent of building materials from within 500 miles of the building site, Green Seal building material and extensive fresh air ventilation, natural light and outdoor views for all workers
- One of the unique features of the Kettle Foods award-winning facility is the Architectural Wind installation from California-based Aerovironment. The brilliantly designed and configured miniturbines atop the Kettle building do for wind energy what the photovoltaic panel did for solar energy.

Architectural Wind, situated on the Kettle Foods factory to generate free, renewable energy and advertise sustainability to all passersby. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Fallon: “Investing in green building was a conscious decision on our part to demonstrate our values in a very tangible way…Our employees have always encouraged us to look at ways to minimize our impact on the environment – from rooftop solar power panels to biodiesel fuel from our used cooking oil. Sustainable initiatives are business as usual at Kettle Foods.”
- Lindholm, Wisconsin Green Building: “Kettle Foods is setting a new standard for sustainable food manufacturing in the U.S…It’s demonstrating through action a commitment to the environment that goes far deeper than its leadership in the natural food industry. We hope other businesses look to Kettle Foods as an inspiration for their own facilities.”
- Fallon: “Our factory is a great place to come to work. Nine out of 10 employees have access to daylight views throughout the facility, and the break room area occupies the best real estate in the building…”