Sustainability
Environmental Sustainability and Stewardship
Sustainability is part of our culture and represented through community service efforts and conserving of natural resources. Through education, we provide our associates with the knowledge and skills to be environmentally responsible for our actions. Since our inception, one of our primary goals has been to provide high-quality produce to customers from an environment that supports social responsibility and sustainability initiatives. We take these goals very seriously and whenever possible, strive to decrease our lasting environmental impact on society. We also strive to manage a supplier network that shares the same focus and aspires to the same goals. DiMare Fresh is committed to continuous improvement in our sustainability.
Our Commitment
Sourcing:
We diligently focus on the agricultural practices of suppliers to our company and support farmers who have environmentally sound farms focusing on such initiatives as: minimizing pesticides, reducing carbon offsets and maximizing efficiency of water and land usage. Our facilities across the country constantly work toward decreasing our environmental footprint. We continually look for large and small ways to decrease our usage of natural resources. Some of these projects are noted below:
- Reduced interior/exterior lighting and electrical usage. Several of our warehouse and production areas lighted only when in use. Motion detectors combined with energy-saving bulbs have reduced energy consumption. Exterior lights are on timers.
- Shifted our potable water availability from plastic bottled water to purified tap water.
- Solar panel system installed in some of our locations to help offset 90% of the energy used for cooling when packing and storing fruit.
- Use document imaging for accounting and administrative functions instead of manual processing of paper documents. We have also shifted a significant portion of information to electronic data storage and retrieval and have dramatically increased the volume of electronic transactions processed through EDI, iTrade, and online web ordering.
- Develop usage of environmentally sustainable chemical substitutes when possible.
- Recycle used cardboard through the utilization of baling equipment at several of our facilities. This program not only recycles but also decreases fuel that would be needed to dispose of refuse.
- Recycle wooden pallets and utilize RPCs whenever authorized by customers.
- Use more biodegradable packaging supplies.
- Utilize recycled products for janitorial and office supplies.
- Enhance various warehouse facilities by replacing sections of the existing warehouse roof with “Carlisle Membrane” which reflects heat and reduces energy needed for plant refrigeration. We keep all dock doors closed when not in use. Landscape watering is timed and scheduled at night to provide the highest absorption rate and maximize the coolest part of the day to save water.
Delivery:
Product that is transported on the Company-owned fleet is delivered using state-of-the-art, fuel efficient trucks. Transportation management at each location minimizes fuel usage through route consolidation and maximizing the load capacity whenever possible.
