Sustainability & Compliance 2022

Committing to providing safe food is confirmed in our annual food safety audits, regulatory compliances, and on-going research and development projects to further incorporate technology into our inventory management, product identification, and service performance. In addition, we have several in-house performance measures to fulfill our goal to be a transparent, vested, small business; providing healthy food to our customers.

Background

Though we are solely storage and distribution, we routinely test the safety of our food, as a critical step on the Farm to Table journey, against manufacturing and processing guidelines.

In business since 1991, transitioning to computers was a major business operational shift. Incorporating digital, cloud-based service is our next challenge. We have completed our first website, actively engage in social media, and made an online and text customer feedback process, for an easier engagement and more accurate tracking of performance.

With the foundation of SQF 9.0, Sec 2.1 Management Commitment and Responsibility to supply safe food, we established and maintain a food safety culture within our company, established and continually improve the site’s food safety management system, and comply with customer and regulatory requirements to supply safe food.

Energy and Climate

We began reducing our energy costs in 2019 with the transition to energy saving light fixtures and lights, retiring old vehicles with poor gas mileage, and incorporated recycling for pallet shipment packaging. We replaced office equipment and computers with new energy saving models and this year, retired our oldest vehicles for newer trucks with better fuel economy. We began gathering data this year to begin measuring our corporate greenhouse gas emissions with Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2023.

Reducing Emissions and Our Footprint

While we do not manufacture or machine process any products, as part of the trucking industry and by sheer operation requirements, do acknowledge our contribution to the global energy crisis, however small.  To that end and based on EPA findings, we monitor the following emissions:

Carbon Dioxide (CO2):

Our facility does not directly burn any fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil), solid waste, trees and other biological materials, nor manufacturer or process to generate chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement).

Transportation

Data confirms that the use of fossil fuels, gasoline and diesel to transport people and goods was the largest source of CO2 emissions in 2020. That is a third of the CO2 emissions and 26% of greenhouse gas emissions in North America (USA). This accounts for all transportation, including domestic transportation sources such as highway and passenger vehicles, air travel, marine transportation, and rail. The EPA states:

The business community can reduce the risks we will face from air pollution and health effects caused by freight transportation. By measuring, benchmarking, and assessing freight transportation activities and strategically making better choices that reduce emissions, companies can make a significant impact on the contribution of freight to cleaner air.

As part of the transportation industry, we have taken major steps to reduce our greenhouse emission contribution.

In the last three years, we have:

• Added live-time GPS vehicle-tracking systems.  Not only does it provide constant contact, measure delivery times, it also reduces fuel waste. We are able to use orders to coordinate deliveries and reduce fuel waste.
• Replaced diesel vehicles with new gasoline-fuel trucks. Diesel delivery vehicles expel more carbon dioxide than their gasoline-fueled counterparts. By using fuel and newer trucks with better fuel economy, we reduce emissions overall.
• Our parking lot is lined with a full row of adult trees and open space.

Ethylene

While classified as an indirect greenhouse emission, Ethylene is also linked to plastic products. We reduce Ethylene production by:

Ethylene is a gas released by some fruits and vegetables that causes produce to ripen faster. Some fruits and vegetables are more sensitive to ethylene than others.

• Strategically staging fresh produce
• Isolating and Grouping Produce to reduce aerobic ethylene formation in the warehouse
• Proper Temperature monitoring and control
• Coordinate Inventory and Purchasing control

Methane (CH4)

Nitrous oxide (N2O)

We do not actively engage in any agricultural, land use, or industrial activities involving the combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste, or wastewater treatment, that emit nitrous oxide.

Fluorinated gases:

We do not use any Fluorinated gases.

Material Efficiency

We became aware of the need to reduce energy costs on a global level two years ago.

• We primarily use food grade cardboard and as a wholesale distributor, our bulk orders reduce the use of plastic. When plastic is used it is recyclable and we encourage all customers and employees to recycle.
• We reduced our waste by adding a dedicated recycling services
• All light fixtures and lights throughout the warehouse and office are LED bulbs, decreasing our energy usage and is cost-effective.
• Transitioning more to the use of technology instead of paper. Each year, about one billion trees are used to make paper, much of which goes into landfill.  We are striving to go paperless throughout your business operations. 

Commitment