Signs mounted throughout Mission Foods’ Panorama City, CA, plant, remind everyone that it’s “Mission Green.”

The facility features 924 solar panels that produce 184 kWh, or enough electricity to maintain the lighting of the building, according to Alvaro Pelayo, plant manager. The plant is a gold-certified LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green building by the US Green Building Council.

But going green goes beyond building design. In California, where water has become a precious commodity, every drop is used sparingly. In fact, nearly all water spent in the plant is used for cleaning the facility or making products, according to German Sahid Chavez, the company’s vice-president of manufacturing.

Mission Foods corporate goals include attaining zero-waste to landfill through aggressive recycling programs. “We’re not in the business of recycling,” Mr. Chavez said. “That’s not our business. We do it because it is the right thing to do.”