WENATCHEE, Wash. – Stemilt Growers is adding to their sustainability and social responsibility program, Responsible Choice® by making its first investment in solar energy. The grower-packer-shipper has installed 100 solar panels onto a new distribution center, the Fresh Cube, set to open this summer. Stemilt’s marketing director, Roger Pepperl believes the addition of solar panels is a great next step for Responsible Choice®.
“Solar panels are a great way to give back to the land that helps us grow our world famous fruit,” states Pepperl. “Preserving renewable resources is a natural progression of our Responsible Choice® program which has developed many sustainability and social responsibility ideas into initiatives since it first started back in 1989.”
Stemilt’s new solar panels are expected to generate enough kilowatt hours of energy to power 3.1 homes annually in Chelan County, where Stemilt is currently located. On average, Chelan County homes consume about 10,766 kilowatts of energy per year. “As the Fresh Cube opens, Stemilt will become the largest solar energy producer in Chelan County,” states Pepperl. “And as we continue with operations at the Fresh Cube, we have designed the panels in a way that we can expand in the future.”
Stemilt is based in Wenatchee, Washington, a central region of Washington State, where energy is plentiful and inexpensive. The area utilizes resources, such as the state’s largest river, the Columbia, and generates hydropower through numerous dams. The region is also well-known for having sunshine nearly 250 days a year, making solar panels a great fit.
“There isn’t a great deal of focus on solar in our state, especially when compared to places like California. Making this investment into solar was not about energy credits for us, rather, about preserving the natural resources that we need to grow high-quality fruit so that we can continue to do it for years to come,” said Pepperl.
Stemilt’s late founder, Tom Mathison, began Responsible Choice® in 1989. The program is based on Mathison’s belief that “we’re just caretakers of the land for a short time, and it’s our job to leave it as good as we possibly can, or better if we can.” Mathison launched the program the same year he transitioned a large number of acres to organic production and began implementing integrated pest managed techniques in orchards to reduce pesticide use.
Today, the company is led by Tom’s grandson, West Mathison, and under his leadership, continues to implement sustainable practices and social responsibility actions into their everyday work. Other examples of Responsible Choice® actions included using LED and motion activated lighting to make energy use more efficient, helping the Wenatchee Valley community dispose of its green waste to make compost for Stemilt farms, and reducing carbon emissions by centralizing the company’s footprint.
“The world is celebrating Earth Day on April 22. At Stemilt, we see Earth Day as every day and Responsible Choice® initiatives like this solar investment are ideal examples of our long-time environmental stewardship,” said Pepperl.
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About Stemilt
Stemilt Growers is a leading tree fruit growing, packing and shipping company based in Wenatchee, Washington. Owned and operated by the Mathison family, Stemilt is the leading shipper of sweet cherries and one of the nation’s largest suppliers of organic tree fruits. Stemilt has also demonstrated a commitment to sustainable agriculture and social responsibility since 1989, when founder Tom Mathison launched the company’s Responsible Choice program. For more information about Stemilt, visit www.stemilt.com and follow Stemilt on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and You Tube.
Source: Stemilt Growers
