Like any major food processor, Arbre uses a fair amount water and energy and generates waste. Our vision is to minimize our environmental impact by continuously improving our techniques in resource conservation, re-use and recycling. A healthy environment means a better product, that is our philosophy. Here are just a few ways we are trying to make Arbre Farms a greener company.
The most important part of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is managing our power usage for cold storage. We use highly energy efficient cold storage compressors, well insulated freezers and computerized power monitoring to minimize waste. The process of trial and error by moving our machinery to the most energy efficient place saves us costs on energy, but at the same time does less damage to the Michigan environment. All of our fork lifts are battery powered and the entrances in and out of the freezer for them are all automatic, meaning less time that the freezer doors are open and therefore less energy to power the freezers.
The success of green initiatives by any company can only be measured by the commitment to the project as a whole. Going green is generally a longer-term investment, which often means additional expense in the short term. Fortunately for our customers, our product, and our environment, we're doing it right. The investments Arbre Farms has made towards going green is paying off leading to the allocation of more funds to even further develop greater energy recycling programs. Commitment to the land and environment is the only direction that fits in Arbre's point of view.
Food processing requires water for a variety of uses, including washing processing equipment when changing products and at the end of every processing day. As our company grows, so has the amount of water and scraps at the end of the day. Our goal was to develop a system to lower the amount of waste. The solution includes a brand new 1,000,000 gallon water holding tank with machinery enabling us to separate the water from the waste. All of the water is recycled by being spread along our farm lands with our new pivots and the food scraps are spread on the fields to be composted, contributing to the already rich Michigan soil. Our effective waste water management ensures that the water is properly treated and safe for re-use in irrigation. Less waste, greater efficiency, and a constant expansion of our green initiative. In the next year we can expect to expand the amount of water to be stored here as well as the use of biogas from our food scraps to help power the plant.