Nestlé Purina goes green and gives back

May 15, 2:32 PMDenver Pets ExaminerMichaela DeGraw

To help celebrate the launch of the new solar array, Nestlé Purina donated more than 30 tons of Purina Dog Chow and Purina Cat Chow to the Metro Denver Shelter Alliance, an organization comprised of 23 animal welfare organizations and support groups in metro Denver. The mission of the Metro Denver Shelter Alliance is to foster collaborative efforts of local animal welfare groups to increase the live release rate of companion animals and to promote responsible pet ownership. All members share the goal to reduce euthanasia by increasing the number of animals adopted and reunited at shelters throughout the community.

Jayme Nielson, MDSA’s Facilitator, accepted the food on behalf of the Metro Denver Shelter Alliance, “This generous food donation will enable many of our members to feed hundreds of shelter and rescue animals waiting for their forever homes. Thank you to Nestlé Purina for including the Metro Denver Shelter Alliance in this groundbreaking initiative.”

The solar project at Nestlé Purina PetCare’s Denver facility is the latest effort towards increasing energy efficiency across all of its manufacturing facilities. Between 1990 and 2008, the company reduced energy usage at its nine dry pet food plants by approximately 20 percent per ton of product produced. To provide the same amount of electricity now produced by the Denver plant’s 467 solar panels, Xcel Energy would generate nearly 300,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year. The solar project makes Nestle Purina the first pet food manufacturer to use renewable energy for the production of pet food.

For more information about the Metro Denver Shelter Alliance please visit www.MDSAlliance.org.