HR0129 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0129 LRB096 08695 GRL 18825 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the administration and employees of PepsiCo's Chicago headquarters and the members of the PepsiCo Green Chicago Team on the occasion of receiving the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council; and

WHEREAS, The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for maximizing operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts in existing buildings operations and maintenance; to earn LEED certification, points are awarded for building attributes in five categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality; and

WHEREAS, PepsiCo's Chicago Plaza office earned this prestigious recognition by reducing the building's energy use by 10 percent in less than a year, cutting water usage to 37 percent below Energy Policy Act performance standards, and eliminating almost 226 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions through energy saving programs; and

WHEREAS, The PepsiCo Green Chicago Team, an employee-established environmental committee, focused on four critical elements in the large-scale effort to obtain LEED certification, including energy savings, specifically the use of employee-nominated floor leaders to keep employees engaged and aware of their daily energy use; waste reduction, which involves monthly contests that pit each of the 16 floors against each other in competition to reduce waste, recycling, involving a formal recycling program that focused on recycling 100 percent of the recyclable glass, paper, plastic, cardboard, batteries, printer/fax cartridges, and light bulbs discarded in the Chicago Plaza's refuse bins; and air quality, which involves the replacement of all janitorial and cleaning products with alternative cleaning products that meet the USGBC's stringent Sustainable Cleaning Products and Materials standards and the improvement of the building's HVAC system to be more efficient; and

WHEREAS, Building on PepsiCo's "Performance with Purpose" sustainability vision to improve environmental, social, and economic aspects for a better tomorrow, the (LEED) Silver Certification the headquarters has received reinforces PepsiCo's commitment to reduce the impact of its businesses on the environment; PepsiCo's Green Team is now working with other PepsiCo office buildings across the country to encourage greater environmental responsibility and LEED certification of other PepsiCo office buildings, another telling measure of the company's commitment; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the administration and employees of PepsiCo's Chicago headquarters and the members of the PepsiCo Green Chicago Team on the occasion of receiving the LEED Silver Certification and wish them continued success in their future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the PepsiCo Green Chicago Team as a symbol of our esteem and respect.