About Us - Social Responsibility - Preserving the environment

Search Products and Recipes:

About Us

- Our Story
- Our Mission
- Our Brands
- Our Locations
- Who We Are
- What We Do
- Diversity
- Business Rankings
- Social Responsibility
Message From Chairman
Our Customers
Our Suppliers
Our Workplace
Our Communities
Preserving the Environment
- Contact Us

Warehouse Energy Efficiency

We are committed to minimizing our effect upon the environment through energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly warehouse and vehicle refrigeration, fuel and fuel storage systems and warehouse equipment. The first phase of our new "green" corporate office complex, a 12-story building, was completed in September 2006. Some of the environmentally-friendly factors incorporated in the design include:

Optimizing energy performance by using high efficiency equipment, capturing return air to heat the buildings in lieu of additional electrical or gas elements
Use of sensors to monitor natural lighting levels and turn lighting on and off only when needed to reduce light pollution
Landscape and exterior design used to reduce temperature differences between developed and undeveloped areas
Minimizing building footprints to maintain more than 50% of the building site open and undisturbed
Use of building materials manufactured within a 500-mile radius to reduce energy used in transportation
Managed control of storm-water run-off to be less than previously
Water conservation through efficient irrigation and high efficiency water fixtures

As a good corporate citizen, we take seriously our responsibility to minimize our environmental footprint. In addition to the inroads we are making in sustainable agricultural practices, we encourage energy efficiency and the reduction of solid waste and fuel usage in our own activities, as well as those of our suppliers.

As we design new distribution centers, we are including energy reduction measures while we are implementing various energy-saving initiatives in our existing operations. For example, lighting retrofits, including motion detectors, and variable frequency controls on refrigeration equipment should help us reach our fiscal 2007 goal of reducing electric kilowatt hours by five percent. A portion of operating company executive bonuses are directly related to achieving this goal.