First LEED Certified Tea Factory Opens in Oregon

Yogi Tea celebrated the grand opening of its new LEED certified factory in Eugene, Oregon, August 11. “[LEED certification] was a natural fit for us and what that company stands for and believes in,” said Giancarlo Marcaccini, CEO of Yogi Tea. “It’s a beautiful building, it’s inspiring and it shows how far we’ve come along.” The company has had a presence in the area since 1972 and decided to open a new facility to accommodate its North American market (Canada, the United States and Mexico), which accounts for 95 percent of Yogi Tea’s business. The new facility was “a natural next step,” said Marcaccini. Conception of the building to its completion took nearly five years. “LEED certification is not only about the impact on the environment, its surroundings and the animal life, but also about the people in the building in terms of toxic leaching and other things. It was a pretty obvious decision,” Marcaccini said. Yogi Tea is proud to be the first tea company to have a LEED certified production facility in the United States. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED construction supports and exemplifies sustainability as it conserves energy and resources and produces less waste. As the most widely used “green” building rating system in the world, it sets standards for creating buildings that are healthy for workers, as well as being manufacturing and cost efficient, and environmentally sound. Every step of tea processing will take place in the new facility, from receiving to combining raw ingredients, to manufacturing the finished product. “This building was built around the flow of process of making tea,” said Marcaccini. “Almost the whole building is part of the production.”

More than 50 different teas and 150 different herbs and spices from around the world will be processed and blended in the building. The marketing and sales teams will remain headquartered in Portland. Nearly 400 people, including employees, city officials and vendor partners, attended the grand opening, where there was a ribbon cutting ceremony, factory tours and refreshments. “We wanted to celebrate the whole journey and appreciate and everyone who has gotten us up to this point and all the people who are yet to come in the future,” said Marcaccini. As for the future, Marcaccini said Yogi Tea’s purpose is to keep making amazing new teas, keep exceeding customers’ expectations and keep doing good deeds in the world.