by Heidi Martin, MCCN staff writer

While business increases for Four Seasons Produce, Inc. of Ephrata, PA, energy costs decrease. In fact, in the past few years, the company has reduced its annual CO2 emissions by 1100 tons, saved 1,600,000 gallons of water, eliminated over 740,000 truck fleet miles and contributed to waste reduction through recycling. It’s no wonder Four Seasons will be recognized for its second Energy Star award by the Environmental Protection Agency in September.

Four Seasons, a full service wholesale company, began in 1976 by David Hollinger. It ships about one million cases of produce each month to various restaurants, hospitals, universities, independent retail stores and other wholesale businesses. The current distribution center is 262,000 square feet with nearly three quarters of that space dedicated to refrigerators.

Nelson Longenecker, Vice President of Business Innovation, says the push for sustainability within the company began five years ago, just before “green” practices became popular. Four Seasons moved to one large location with one large electric bill and members of the company became aware of their overall impact on the environment quite quickly. Longenecker took his current position four years ago with goals to focus on business driven initiatives in sustainability.

Longenecker, along with coworker Randy Groff, began a group within the company called “Gaining Resource & Energy Efficiency Now!” also known as the G.R.E.E.N. Team. This team is made up of a member from each department and meets once a month to share information and create sustainability goals for the future.

“Using “Now” with an exclamation point shows a sense of urgency,” says Longenecker. “We are business driven and in a fast-paced environment and we know the impact on world climate change.”

The G.R.E.E.N. Team pushed the company’s ability to recycle to a higher level, sponsoring a monthly drawing for a free car wash to employees who bring in used motor oil. Four Seasons uses this motor oil to help heat the truck garage in the winter months.

“We also challenge each other to do things personally at home, such as changing shower heads to save hot water or using energy-efficient light bulbs,” says Longenecker.

The company’s most successful programs focus on energy efficiency. Initially, Four Seasons worked toward creating a smaller electric bill in 2010 than 2005. Even with an increase in electricity rates in 2010, the company will achieve this goal. In the future, they hope to reduce costs in diesel fuel.

Practicing sustainability has been beneficial to Four Seasons in many ways. Green efforts have made the company more competitive in general and increases credibility with current and potential customers. Longenecker believes the overall reputation of the company has also increased.

“Though I can’t prove it, I like to think that people feel good when working for a company that is having a positive impact rather than a negative one,” says Longenecker.

For Longenecker, the impact reaches much further than healthy work environments and environmental impact to spirituality.

“We certainly are not perfect in how we do things,” says Longenecker. “This is a different message than what is often heard {from the church}. Practicing servant leadership and apologizing for mistakes attracts people to Jesus and is not intimidating.”

One of the challenges for Longenecker is to continue to stay on the cutting edge and, at the same time, implement projects that have a viable payback for the company.

“So much is happening in the scientific and business area that it is tough to keep up and stay current,” says Longenecker, “especially during an economy like this when we keep trying to grow the business as well.”

This does not discourage Longenecker who says:  “As believers, we have a great opportunity to be driving this – to be leaders that set an example, not followers.

Both Four Seasons owner David Hollinger and Nelson Longenecker, Vice President of Business Innovation, are active in Mennonite Economic Development Association. Longenecker is a member of Mount Joy Mennonite Church.

(EPHRATA, PA)  PennFuture recognized Four Seasons Produce on September 10, 2009 at a luncheon in Philadelphia as a “Green Power Consumer” for their “commitment to reducing energy use, conserving resources and improving the environment”. The Green Power awards were created by PennFuture to honor “individuals, private industries, government agencies and public interest organizations that are building Pennsylvania’s thriving renewable energy market.”

In August, Four Seasons Produce Inc.’s Wabash Road distribution center earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) prestigious ENERGY STAR for the second year in a row. ENERGY STAR is the national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection. Commercial buildings and industrial plants that rate in the top 25 percent of facilities in the nation for energy efficiency may qualify for the ENERGY STAR.

Four Season’s facility is currently one of only four refrigerated warehouses in the country to be awarded the ENERGY STAR. “Four Seasons Produce is pleased to again accept EPA’s recognition of our energy efficiency,” said Ron Carkoski, President and CEO. “In an organization committed to continuous improvement, earning the ENERGY STAR two years in a row verifies the results of our on-going efforts to lower our energy costs. We initially joined the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Partnership because its objectives matched well with goals we were already pursuing.”

“The Four Seasons family of companies’ multiple initiatives to save energy and resources have yielded an excellent return on our investment of money and effort,” said Nelson Longenecker, Vice President of Business Innovation. “Our results are strong evidence that business can find new ways to deliver products and services using significantly fewer resources”. The electric bill at the Wabash Road facility has been reduced by 25% since 2006 through improved energy management, lighting and dock shelter retrofits, and other initiatives. In addition, water usage has been reduced by 24%, and 86% of all solid waste was recycled in 2008. Sunrise Transport has used dynamic routing and delivery consolidation to reduce truck travel by more than a million miles in the past year and a half. Sunrise Transport drivers have reduced inter-trip idling during the same period by 25%, resulting in improved fleet fuel efficiencies.

Commercial buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  “Four Seasons has improved our energy performance over the years by working to continuously improve the use of energy and resources across our entire organization. This program has enabled us to build and refine the energy component of our sustainability efforts,” said Randy Groff, Director of Facilities and Energy.

To increase awareness among its associates, Four Seasons Produce promotes energy and sustainability each month by producing an article for its in-house weekly newsletter. One section of its website also promotes company initiatives. In addition, a G.R.E.E.N! team continues to raise awareness and foster ideas for “Gaining Energy and Resource Efficiency Now!” Members of this team represent many areas within the family of companies, who regularly review the results of initiatives and generate additional ideas for improvement.

EPA introduced ENERGY STAR in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products, new homes, and commercial and industrial buildings. Products and buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR designation prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the government. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved about $19 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 29 million vehicles.

For more information about PennFuture visit http://www.pennfuture.org. For more information about ENERGY STAR visit www.energystar.gov. For more information about Four Seasons Produce visit www.fsproduce.com