We are your Friends, Family and Neighbors. We Care!
We recognize that our business, our employees, and our suppliers all impact the environment. We are committed to minimizing that impact through initiatives that promote the reduced consumption of natural resources, that reduce our waste stream, that utilize technology to conserve energy, water, and natural gas, and that help to minimize our carbon footprint. We have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on our environment. How we manage our natural resources sets an example for other businesses, our employees, our families, and future generations. The physical space occupied by our company contributes toward our environmental impact and we have taken these measures to reduce our footprint on the environment.
- Replaced old lighting with more efficient LED lighting
- Motion detection lighting is being used to turn the lights on and off
- Replaced external windows and doors with dual pane energy efficient windows
- Installed frequency drives on all pumps and motors to reduce the amount of energy used by our pumps and refrigeration compressors
- Monitor and adjust waste water pH levels to reduce our impact on the municipal sewer system
- Developed procedures to reduce water usage during manufacturing and cleaning.
- Umpqua Dairy also participates in Pacific Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy program. Part of our electricity is generated through renewable energy sources.
- We recapture and reuse refrigerants used in freezer and refrigeration equipment. Our refrigeration systems are computer controlled for optimum energy efficiency. In 2019 we saved over 54,000 kWh of energy.
Sustainability in Distribution
Our distribution system is an integral part of our process. We strive to reduce fuel consumption and associated costs at every opportunity. To date we have:
- Converted our fleet to 53’ trailers from 45’ for use on longer routes. Reducing the number of trips results in considerable fuel savings.
- We recap our tire casings and continue to use the casings for 7 years. This reduces the number of tires purchased thereby saving resources.
- We installed computerized on board systems to monitor driving speeds and idle time.
- We have worked to eliminate all unnecessary idle time and have seen reduced fuel consumption.
- We have switched to hand held route accounting computers. This has saved a tremendous amount of paper in our operation.
- We burn used motor oil in our shop heating system, thereby reusing oil that would have to be recycled at an offsite facility.
- We continue to upgrade our fleet to become more fuel efficient. Over the past 10 years, our miles driven per gallon of fuel consumption has increased 2 miles per gallon.
- Our company has developed processes that encourage staff to reduce waste and preserve resources:
- We encourage recycling at work and at home. We have programs in place to recycle paper, cardboard, plastic, beverage containers, batteries, electronics and motor oil.
- We encourage the use of email and electronic document storage to reduce the amount of paper and postage generated by our company.
- We encourage the prudent use of natural resources by asking employees to turn off room lights when not in use, shut off and/or report water leaks, air compressor leaks, steam leaks, etc.
- Whenever possible we reuse paper, cardboard, plastic bags both in our office and in our shipping department.
Maintaining Environmental and Animal Care Standards
We purchase milk through a cooperative whose farmers adhere to sustainable and environmental guidelines. As a purchaser of raw milk, we:
- Do not accept milk from cows treated with the growth hormone rBST.
- Encourage our farmers to provide the highest standards of animal care and quality assurance by participating in the National Dairy FARM program.
- Encourage and support the Northwest Sustainable Dairies initiative developed by the Northwest Dairy Farmers Association. This program sets guidelines and expectations for dairy farms in the areas of animal care and welfare, environmental stewardship, milk quality and safety, labor management, and energy usage.
Good Stewards
It is Umpqua Dairy’s policy to be a good steward of the environment. We ask our staff and associates to reuse and recycle whenever possible. We encourage practices that help to reduce the consumption of our natural resources. We are committed to the goal of continually improving our efforts to minimize the impact of our business on our community and our environment.