Sustainability is the process of maintaining change in a balanced environment. This proactive strategic planning is fundamental to any business with plans of longevity.
In recent years, we have seen more and more businesses incorporate energy-saving and recycling goals into their sustainability models.
Check out these five local companies that are leading environmentally-conscious initiatives to the benefit of both company & community.
****
McCutcheon’s Apple Products
It’s no surprise that a company that just celebrated its 80th birthday knows a little something about sustainability. Today, the company continues to plan for the future through an extensive recycling program & a strong commitment to clean, renewable energy sources.
McCutcheon’s recycles all organic material produced at the facility, which totals approximately 1,000,000 pounds yearly. The company also recycles 100% of cardboard used.
McCutcheon’s installed solar paneling on its factory rooftop in Downtown Frederick. Today, 80% of the facility’s electricity needs are met by this 100 kilowatt solar array.
McCutcheon’s exclusively uses clean natural gas in its cooking processes.
2. STULZ Air Technology Systems Inc.
In Fall 2018, STULZ was honored by the Regional Manufacturing Institute as a Maryland Champion of Energy & Sustainability for the company’s commitment to environmentally-friendly initiatives — both in its products and operations.
STULZ is a leader in the design and manufacture of energy efficient & environmentally-friendly precision cooling & humidity management equipment. As a testament to the energy-savings of its products, STULZ customer- CyrusOne- was awarded a Global Award for ‘Infrastructure Scale Out’ for its Green Field Data Center in Texas, at which STULZ equipment is deployed.
In 2018, the company recycled 390 tons of metal scrap and 78 tons of cardboard. The company has made significant financial investments in an ‘auger compactor system’ to consolidate over seven tons of packaging wood waste per week (338 tons of wood waste in 2018), now incinerated at a power plant for energy recovery instead of going into the local landfill — reducing waste pick up by 80%.
More than 50% of the electricity consumed at the Frederick manufacturing facility comes from over 2300 solar panels installed on the 135,000 square foot roof of the facility.
STULZ switched to LED lighting and reduced average daily power consumption by nearly 7% while doubling the illumination in the work space.
STULZ is committed to a sustainable future and improving social, economic and environmental well-being. We are proud of our environmental achievements and are passionate about improving sustainability within our operations and through our product designs.
- Nate Talbot, Environmental Health & Safety Manager
3. GOEFER
Based at Frederick’s business incubator - FITCI - GOEFER is a tech start-up with an energy-saving mission. The company has developed an advanced powerstrip which syncs to an app providing direct feedback on energy consumption and enabling remote control in order to reduce waste.
Office technology and appliances can use a surprising amount of electricity despite being powered off. According to GOEFER research, more than 30% of an office building’s electricity use can be traced to the electronics plugged in. Simply unplugging them when not being used could save up to 50%.
GOEFER’s product currently cuts energy bills by more than $22 per office /workstation annually by using technology to unplug the wasted and unused energy that happens every night, weekend, holiday, vacation, or sick day.
Sustainability is our “why.” It takes so many resources to produce a watt of electricity that they should never be wasted. We have been given a beautiful planet and it is our responsibility to take care of it. It is our mission to unplug the waste and plug-in insight & awareness.
— Michael Herod, Founder of GOEFER
4. ALDI
From recycling and using solar energy to building environmentally-friendly warehouses and stores, ALDI has made green initiatives a cornerstone of their business model.
All of ALDI’s new warehouses are constructed with sun shades and special glass to insulate and reduce heat from the sun, including the ALDI Frederick Warehouse, which currently operates 3,636 solar panels on the roof of the building. The solar array has been producing renewable energy consumed on-site since April 2018. Since then, approximately 28% of the facility is run on solar energy.
ALDI stores have a smaller footprint than traditional grocery stores with approximately 12,000 square feet of retail space compared to 60,000 square feet at a traditional grocery store.
ALDI’s ability to deliver competitively low prices to customers is dependent upon the company’s efficiency. ALDI views single-use plastic shopping bags as an inefficient use of resources. By encouraging shoppers to bring their own bags, or purchase reusable bags, ALDI reduces its environmental footprint and is able to maintain its price leadership.
As part of ALDI’s capital investment of more than $5 billion in new and remodeled stores, the company is increasing its eco-friendly elements. Aldi’s new and remodeled stores feature environmentally-friendly building supplies, such as recycled materials and energy-saving LED lighting, energy efficient refrigerated systems and HVAC units, and more environmentally-friendly refrigerants.
By only using ammonia refrigeration systems in its warehouses, ALDI has significantly reduced damage potential. ALDI received the 2016-17 “Best of the Best” award from GreenChill’s Environmental Protection Agency as a result of also utilizing CO2 refrigeration systems in several stores.
“We’re deeply committed to being good corporate stewards and doing our part to make the communities we serve a better place. Right here in Frederick, we want to make the ALDI experience one that meets not only our community’s needs, but the needs of the environment that we all share. We’re excited to continue along this sustainability journey with our shoppers.”
– Jeff Baehr, ALDI Frederick Division Vice President
5. Datakwip
Based just down the hall from GOEFER (featured above), Datakwip is a FITCI-based tech energy management start-up looking to disrupt current standards with it’s cloud based, artificially intelligent facility analytics. Datakwip’s software gathers data generated by buildings and converts the information into energy & cost saving opportunities.
Datakwip’s technology is working to save energy across a wide range of industries & facilities, including: commercial office buildings, schools, hospitals, data centers, high-rise residential buildings, industrial facilities, government buildings, telecommunications, and performance contracting.
By adopting the data-driven adjustments, customers have seen 1st year energy reduction savings of up to 30%.
Datakwip has helped our customers not only save money on energy use but reduce their overall energy consumption. We help customers take their first steps in energy sustainability and reducing their carbon emissions. While the energy efficiency solution offered by Datakwip is not always viewed as exciting as renewable energy, we have provided our customers the most cost-efficient way to make an immediate impact on their energy consumption and help advance a clean economy.
Josh Desmond, Vice President of Business Development at Datakwip
Coming Soon!
Read here for the inside scoop on the Green Initiatives planned for Common Market’s second location.