That’s right.  Another example of the business case for going green.  Recently, Gatorade received LEED Gold-level certification for the Gatorade Thirst Quencher Blue Ridge facility in Wytheville, Virginia.  At 950,000 sf, it weighs in as the largest green food and beverage facility in the world.  Notice the oxymoron: large green; but it’s not really fair for me to say that.  Building a manufacturing facility to the LEED Gold level can be quite the accomplishment.  Like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo (which owns Gatorade) sees the benefits of having green production facilities.  In addition to the PR benefits of showing the community that you’re not wasteful of valuable water resources, you build a better work environment for employees and waste less energy.  Big companies with green buildings show their employees that green is good, and this thinking starts to cascade.  Eventually, employees will greenify their homes and habits.  Employees will tell their friends and families, too.  Word will spread and there will be a point, not in the too distant future, when everyone accepts green as the standard and non-green as passé, wasteful, and unsophisticated. 

Good Links:
+Gatorade LEED Gold Press Release
+Gatorade Press Release with Blue Ridge Image [CSRwire]
+Coca-Cola Flaunts Business Case for Green Renovations [JG]