ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston Delhi Processing Facility Earns LEED Platinum Certification
January 20 2011 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston’s Delhi, La., processing facility
received its official Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED®) Platinum certification today, awarded by the U. S. Green
Building Council (USGBC).
The Delhi facility is the first frozen food manufacturing plant
worldwide to earn LEED Platinum certification, the highest
distinction available to green buildings. The design, construction
and operations at the Delhi processing facility were all developed
with environmental impact and sustainability in mind. The plant
primarily processes sweet potatoes from Louisiana and the
surrounding states―prime sweet potato-growing regions—and was built
from the ground up using the newest and best processing and
packaging technologies. Operations began in September 2010.
The state-of-the art equipment featured in the plant was
uniquely designed to process sweet potatoes in the most efficient
and environmentally responsible way—key for long-term, economic
sustainability. The plant will eventually convert fresh sweet
potatoes into many different consumer and restaurant products
prepared from frozen. Efficient operations mean more efficient use
of natural resources within the community, including energy and
water. Employees also benefit from the green building design; it is
climate-controlled throughout to enhance productivity, safety and
comfort.
“We had an opportunity to build something from scratch and set
out to build a great sustainable plant because it was right for the
business and who we are as a company,” said Rick Martin, vice
president for manufacturing at Lamb Weston. “We’ve been producing
quality sweet potato products for the past 10 years, which allowed
us to bring the best of what we’ve learned during this time to the
design and construction of the Delhi plant.” To earn this
distinction as the first LEED Platinum frozen food manufacturing
plant in the world reflects the entire project team’s hard work and
ConAgra Foods’ investment in innovation and excellence.
To earn LEED Platinum certification, a building is evaluated by
the USGBC on a number of specific criteria: sustainable sites
(protecting the environment), water efficiency, energy and
atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality,
and the innovation and design process. Notable features of the Lamb
Weston LEED Platinum plant include:
- The entire plant is climate controlled
to increase worker productivity, safety and comfort. Climate
control in such a hot, humid environment reduces condensation build
up and water on the floors, reducing slip and fall and hazards.
Materials, such as low VOC (volatile organic compounds) carpeting,
cleaning products and paints, are used in the interior of the plant
to reduce occupant exposure to airborne pollutants.
- Energy-saving equipment is projected to
save 40% of the annual energy consumed at a comparable plant. By
identifying and recovering potential wasted energy within the
building systems and processes, energy demand is greatly
reduced.
- Biogas, produced by treating process
waste water, is piped back to the plant boilers to produce steam.
This process is expected to offset approximately 20% of the annual
natural gas demand of the plant, and prevents methane, a harmful
greenhouse gas, from entering the atmosphere.
- More than 100 acres of the property
will be maintained as open space, including protected wetland
areas, ponds and restored native vegetation. Water is conserved
outside the building by landscaping with native plant species that
require no irrigation once established.
- Priority parking is given to
low-emission, fuel efficient vehicles.
Project partners included Fisher & Sons Design/Build, a
leading design and construction firm with expertise in the food
industry based in Burlington, Wash., and Paladino and Company, a
Seattle, Wash.,-based sustainability and green building consulting
firm at the forefront of the green building movement.
“We are proud to have worked alongside the team at ConAgra Foods
Lamb Weston to bring this project from the drawing board to a
reality,” said Jerome Fisher, CEO of Fisher Companies. “The Delhi
plant was our first project incorporating LEED design and building
strategies. We pride ourselves on excellence and look forward to
applying the experience and knowledge gained on this project for
future projects.”
“This LEED Platinum rating is really the icing on the cake for a
well-designed sustainable project,” said Patrick Leonard, green
building consultant, LEED AP, Paladino and Company. “LEED was used
as a back check to validate the sustainable strategies implemented
during design and construction. The Platinum rating is the positive
outcome of our team’s focus on balancing the project’s impacts to
the planet, employees and the community, and Lamb Weston’s bottom
line.”
About Fisher & Sons: As a design/build contractor based in
the Pacific Northwest, Fisher & Sons has built processing and
storage facilities throughout North America. Pioneering a true
design/build approach with an in-house design and engineering team,
owners are delivered the results unique to their business needs.
Fisher & Sons’ team of LEED accredited design/build
professionals bring an experienced approach and the ability to meet
tight timelines and budgets, all without compromising quality. For
information on the company’s industrial and processing projects,
please visit www.fishersons.com.
About Paladino and Company: Paladino and Company, Inc. is an
internationally recognized sustainability and green building
consulting firm that helps organizations align business growth with
the long term health and vitality of the planet. The firm’s
specialized team of architects, engineers, and business analysts
work collaboratively with building owners and their teams to create
high performance green buildings and companies, resulting in
environmentally responsible development and reduced total cost of
ownership. For more information, visit www.paladinoandco.com.
Lamb Weston, a brand of ConAgra Foods, Inc., is North America's
premier supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer and
other vegetable products, serving both the foodservice and retail
industries. For more information, please visit us at
www.lambweston.com.
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America's
leading food companies, with brands in 97 percent of America's
households. Consumers find Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters,
Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Marie Callender's, Orville
Redenbacher's, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Snack Pack and
many other ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass
merchandise and club stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong
business-to-business presence, supplying frozen potato and sweet
potato products as well as other vegetable, spice and grain
products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice
operators and commercial customers. For more information, please
visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.
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