Lamb Weston Plant Earns LEED Platinum Certification

DELHI, La.ConAgra Foods announced its Lamb Weston, processing facility in Delhi, La., received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification from the U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

According to the company, the 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, and will eventually convert fresh sweet potatoes into many different consumer and restaurant products prepared from frozen.

"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 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.