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Environmental Solutions Honored

With the support of Governor Schwarzenegger and distinguished CEOs, Environmental Defense Fund has launched its inaugural report "Innovations Review 2008: Making Green the New Business as Usual." The report highlights the latest trends and best practices that demonstrate how environmental sustainability efforts are creating new markets, providing competitive advantages and saving companies millions of dollars. The report is a first of its kind, featuring business solutions that are replicable and ready for implementation across business sectors and industries today.

Environmental Defense Fund recognized that 'business as usual' is changing, so they created a new way to assess environmental innovation," Governor Schwarzenegger says. "More than a third of the companies showcased are based here. I love it when California is number one and it is a big thrill to see businesses in our state leading the way."

David Yarnold, right, executive director of Environmental Defense Fund, displays EDF's new report 'Innovations Review 2008: Making Green the New Business as Usual', as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, center, and Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz look on, at EDF offices in San Francisco. 'Innovations Review 2008' highlights best practices that provide both environmental and business benefits and showcases green innovations by many California corporations. Photo for EDF by Court Mast

In keeping with EDF's market-based approach to solving major environmental problems, the review features game-changing best practices that can influence nearly every functional area within a company – including real estate, operations and manufacturing, fleet management, human resources, IT and finance. Additional innovations highlight transformations underway in the shipping, food and agriculture, retail and insurance sectors. All the innovations were selected based on four key criteria: environmental benefits, business benefits, replicability and creativity.

A downloadable version of the report, quotes from featured business leaders are available at www.EDF.org/InnovationsReview.  

Food and Ag Innovator

The Food and agriculture case study recognizes Bellisio Foods of Jackson, Ohio. While commonly used to generate energy from agricultural waste, anaerobic digesters can do the same with food scraps.

Bellisio Foods' use of biogas reduces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions that would normally occur from burning natural gas. Furthermore, the reuse of waste matter reduces the company's impact on the local landfill and prevents the need for new landfills. In fact, within the first nine months of using the pretreatment system, Bellisio Foods decreased its average output of biological waste by 96% – from over 600,000 to fewer than 30,000 pounds of biological waste. Economically, the company estimates that it will save $650,000/year by converting its waste (from food screenings and excess production) to biogas instead of hauling it offsite.

The maker of Michelina's and other national frozen meal brands is now building its second 5.25 million gallon digester at its production facility in rural Ohio. When complete, the company estimates that it will process all of its food waste each day, generating enough power to run two of the plant's nine boilers and reducing its total greenhouse gas emissions.

The $6 million project is a major capital investment, but one that some state incentives and Bellisio Foods' long-term vision make possible. After an estimated four and a half year payback period, the company expects to save roughly $1.3 million a year in energy, landfill and transportation costs.