Dave Zepponi, president of the Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA), was recently named a 2007 Champion of Industrial Energy Efficiency by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Zepponi was recognized for his leadership and accomplishments in energy efficiency within the industrial sector.

Under Zepponi's leadership, NWFPA secured state funding for its Innovation Productivity Center, an initiative that combines energy efficiency and productivity to help the Northwest food processing industry compete globally in light of rising energy prices and foreign competition. He also helped create the Food-Processing Industry Resource Efficiency Initiative, which brought together a large number of public and private organizations throughout the western United States, to find ways to improve energy and water efficiency in food processing.

NWFPA works closely with the Industrial Efficiency Alliance to increase energy efficiency at the both the executive and plant levels.