Companies Go Green for Consumers— and Profit

As consumers look for more eco-friendly products, a Frito-Lay plant in Arizona is working toward ways to turn 500,00 pounds of spuds into environmentally friendly potato chips, the New York Times reports, changing an energy- and water-hogging process into one that uses renewable fuel, solar energy, and recycled water in a “net zero” operation backed by parent PepsiCo.

“If this works even to 50% or 60% of its potential, that is fantastic,” PepsiCo's CEO said. Critics say corporate greening is often mainly show, that “the grandstanding is ahead of the action.” But Toyota has reduced energy consumption for manufacturing 24% since 2002 and Texas Instruments cut annual energy and water costs by $4 million at a new plant. (More ecology stories.)