Sustainability in Victorville – Dr Pepper Snapple Group

Our new Western distribution hub and production facility in Victorville, Calif., began its operations earlier this year. Located on 57 acres, the 850,000-square-foot facility will produce 40 million cases a year of a range of DPS brands including Snapple, Mott’s, Hawaiian Punch, Nantucket Nectars, Clamato, Deja Blue, and Mr and Mrs T mixers.  The plant was intended primarily to fill a void in our distribution network, allowing us to distribute from a regional hub products that we once had to ship cross-country from facilities on the East Coast. Our customers in the region now have much quicker access to our non-carbonated juices, enabling us to better meet their demands.  The business benefit is clear, as is the economic benefit to the local community. During the building process, the facility had 300 contractors in it at once and has logged 270,000 man hours of labor to date. The facility will employ hundreds of people in the Victorville area, making DPS a major contributor to the local economy.

Reducing Impact on the Environment
Beyond the dollars, however, the Victorville hub also gives us the opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of our distribution network. By having comprehensive regional manufacturing and distribution capabilities on the West coast, we’re eliminating the need for millions of miles of driving annually, countless gallons of fuel consumption and their associated emissions.  In addition, the facility has been designed with efficiency and sustainability in mind. Approximately 85 percent of the equipment used in the plant is new and state-of-the-art with the remainder repurposed from other DPS facilities. With features such as a white membrane roof, high-efficiency lighting with occupancy sensors, brightly colored exterior concrete and low-emitting carpets, paints and adhesives, electricity costs will be kept to a minimum. The plant also will be powered by renewable energy and non-renewable sources offset entirely by purchased renewable energy credits.

State-of-the-Art Technology and Processes
Water efficiency is another bright spot in the plant’s systems. Fully half of the water from the reverse osmosis and nano filtration systems is recaptured through a brine recovery system, cutting waste substantially. Discharge water is pre-treated onsite before it is released to the city’s new wastewater treatment plant. Filling lines are equipped with empty container air rinsers, rather than traditional water rinsers, reducing water usage by roughly 10,000 gallons per line per day.  The building also contains a recycling center that separates recyclable materials, such as PET, glass, aluminum, shrinkwrap and pallet strapping. The facility works with a leading industrial recycler to ensure that the vast majority of waste materials is diverted from landfills. All told, we expect the advanced technology and processes, from water and energy conservation to waste reduction and recycling, to help the Victorville facility achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designation from the U.S. Green Building Council. The certification process is already under way.
Far more than just another building in our family of plants and distribution centers, this state-of-the-art facility represents the latest step in our commitment not only to meet the needs of our customers, but to do so in a way that best serves our communities and minimizes our environmental footprint.