Growing number of ConAgra facilities achieve Energy Star certification

The number of ConAgra Foods facilities achieving Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to grow.



The company’s latest class of Energy Star achievers includes eight operations, one of which, the ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston/BSW facility in Warden, Wash., is receiving an Energy Star for the first time.



“Receiving the Energy Star certification is a testament to our employees’ ongoing commitment to operating sustainably,” said Marcella Thompson, director, sustainable development, ConAgra Foods. “Throughout our operations, teams of employees tirelessly investigate new ways to conserve energy and remain good stewards of the environment. The eight facilities singled out by the EPA represent our top performers, and serve as examples of what we can all achieve when working together.”



The Energy Star recipients are located in Boardman, Ore.; Park Rapids, Minn.; Quincy, Wash.; Richland, Wash.; Ripon, Wis.; South Beloit, Ill.; Tonawanda, N.Y. and Warden, Wash.



ConAgra Foods facilities receiving Energy Star certification perform in the top 25% of similar operations nationwide for energy efficiency. They also meet strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.



“Improving the energy efficiency of our nation’s industrial facilities is critical to protecting our environment,” said Jean Lupinacci, chief of the Energy Star commercial and industrial branch. “From the plant floor to the board room, organizations are leading the way by making their facilities more efficient and earning EPA’s Energy Star certification.”



Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. In 2008, ConAgra Foods and other food companies worked alongside the EPA to develop the energy performance standards now used to determine Energy Star certification in the food industry.



Today, the Energy Star label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products as well as new homes and commercial and industrial buildings that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. In the past twenty years, American families and businesses have saved a total of nearly $230 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 1.7 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions with help from Energy Star.