PepsiCo
At a Glance
Industry
Consumer Packaged Goods
Project Types
Clean and Renewable Energy, Commercial Energy Efficiency, Industrial Energy Efficiency
Year
2010
Location
Plano, TX
Peter Petropoulos spent his summer immersed in the LEED rating system as a Climate Corps fellow at PepsiCo in its 'business information solutions' headquarters in Plano, Texas. Petropoulos, an MBA student at The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, performed a gap analysis between the facility and LEED certification. Energy intensity, measured by the buildings Energy Star rating, was a critical hurdle to overcome during the analysis. This hurdle represented opportunity for PepsiCo to invest in energy efficiency and get a return on its LEED investment.
After speaking with experts in HVAC, Petropoulos found the building was designed to house a call center that would operate around the clock. As PepsiCo does not use it for this purpose, Petropoulos found energy savings in a new operating sequence for the buildings various systems that could be implemented with little cost.
This and other projects identified could result in a total reduction in annual energy consumption by approximately 1.9 million kWh, reduce operating costs by $195,000, and avoid 1,200 metric tons of CO2 emissions. These investments have a net present value of $1.2 million of their respective lifetimes.
During the ten-week period, Petropoulos also managed to uncover gaps and opportunities and chart a roadmap for the rest of the LEED rating system. This expansive system includes water use efficiencies, landfill waste diversion, air quality improvement, and a range of other critical areas of facility management.