• The New York Times, Thursday, November 15, 2007 12:02 PM

Frito-Lay is embarking on an ambitious plan to change the way its potato chip factory in Casa Grande, Ariz., operates and, in the process, create a new type of snack: the environmentally benign chip. Its goal is to run the plant almost entirely on renewable fuels and recycled water. The concept is called "net zero," and it has the backing of the highest levels of corporate executives at PepsiCo.

There are benefits besides the potential energy savings. Like many other large corporations, PepsiCo is striving to establish its green credentials, as consumers become more focused on climate change. There are marketing opportunities, too. The company, for example, intends to advertise that its popular SunChips snacks are made using solar energy.

The retrofit of the Casa Grande factory--scheduled to be completed by 2010--would reduce electricity and water consumption by 90% and its natural gas use by 80%. Greenhouse gas emissions would be cut by 50 to 75% percent, the company says.

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