January 28, 2011 | Fairfield, CA USA

Verallia North America Celebrates ENERGY STAR® Award

Facility in Fairfield, Calif. is among top 25 of all warehouses in U.S.

Verallia North America, a leading glass container manufacturer in the U.S., was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® award for its distribution center in Fairfield, Calif. which is in the top 25 percent of high-energy performance facilities in the U.S.

The EPA's National Energy Performance Rating System awarded this distribution center a score of 98 out of 100, meaning that the building is more energy efficient than 98 out every 100 warehouse facilities in the entire U.S. An ENERGY STAR-qualified facility meets strict energy performance standards set by EPA and uses less energy, is less expensive to operate, and creates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than its peers.

"As a company, in all of our operations across the country, we are constantly evaluating energy usage but more importantly analyzing how we can implement processes, procedures and best practices to reduce consumption and its environmental impact," said Joseph R. Grewe, President and CEO. "The cost reduction realized from these actions is certainly an added benefit. The Fairfield distribution center is a great example of these initiatives and we are delighted to be receiving the ENERGY STAR award for the effort."

Verallia North America, part of Saint-Gobain, produces Verallia brand glass bottles and jars for the wine, beer, beverage, spirits, and food container markets. Its Fairfield distribution center is the first building utilized by Saint-Gobain to be awarded with the ENERGY STAR label. The Fairfield facility, a distribution center built to primarily serve Verallia's distribution needs for West Coast customers, particularly those in Northern California's wine industry, was recognized for a high level of energy efficiency because the site costs measurably less to operate and improves the quality of the environment by using prudent energy management strategies and technologies.

"We congratulate this ENERGY STAR award winner for their commitment to saving energy and cutting greenhouse gas emissions," said Stephanie Valentine, manager of EPA's Energy Star program in the Pacific Southwest. "Not only are they helping the environment, they're helping their bottom line, driving demand, and inspiring innovation."

In the case of the Fairfield distribution center, the majority of energy consumption in the facility is lighting. The 24-hour, five-day-a-week center has 64 docks, 10,000 square feet of office space, and more than 1 million square feet of storage and warehouse space. By installing high-efficiency lighting throughout the distribution center, Verallia North America was able to reduce its carbon foot-print by 1,077 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually (the equivalent of 2,505 barrels of oil). This reduction in carbon dioxide emissions saves the company an estimated $210,000 annually.

"When we set out to build the warehouse, we wanted it to be as efficient and sustainable as possible and made the appropriate investments to make that a reality," said Brad Runda, Energy Manager for Saint-Gobain, including Verallia North America. "We began targeting the biggest energy users in the facility and looked for the most efficient systems to install so that we would not only reduce operational costs, but also have less impact on the environment."

The ENERGY STAR award for Fairfield is part of a company-wide sustainability initiative which has gained a national presence with Verallia being the only glass container manufacturer, along with its parent company Saint-Gobain, to earn the EPA's ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year (2009, 2010) award for energy conservation efforts.

About Verallia

Verallia (www.verallia.com) is the international brand of Saint-Gobain's Packaging Sector, dedicated to the manufacturing activities of glass bottles and jars. Verallia, a worldwide leader in glass packaging, designs and manufactures glass containers that are environmentally-friendly and endlessly recyclable. With 47 glass manufacturing facilities and six technical centers worldwide, Verallia manufactured 25 billion bottles and jars in 2009.

About Verallia North America

Verallia North America (www.sgcontainers.com), one of the leading glass container manufacturers in the United States, designs, develops and produces glass bottles and jars for the wine, beer, beverage, spirits and food containers markets. Verallia North America has 13 strategically located plants and a state-of-the-art distribution center in the United States.

Contact:

Verallia North America
Corporate Communications
(765) 741-7092