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Conservation Efforts

As a farmer first, Stemilt founder Tom Mathison believed that we must protect the land in order to make agriculture a sustainable business for future generations to come. Today, Stemilt makes sustainability a priority throughout our operations. Examples of our conservation efforts include:

	Integrated Pest Management: IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management. Stemilt orchards use information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment to manage them with the least hazard to people, property and the environment. Additionally, we use natural predators, such as trained falcons, to ward off fruit-damaging birds.
	Energy Conservation: In conjunction with the local utility company, Stemilt upgraded the lighting system at its largest packing facility, installed automatic folding doors on cold storage rooms company-wide and developed a system to monitor electricity usage in order to conserve energy.
	Reducing Carbon Emissions: In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, we successfully transitioned more than half of our company forklifts from propane to electric-powered units. We also coordinate drop-off and pick-ups in order to limit the amount of trucks traveling empty and prohibit Stemilt trucks from idling at shipping.
	Water Conservation: Stemilt uses a variety of methods to conserve water, including irrigating only when needed, micro-system sprinklers and ground cover plantings that prevent moisture loss. Plus, just by changing and turning off water nozzles on our packing lines, we conserve more than 60 million gallons of water annually.
	Environmentally-friendly Packaging: When redesigning fruit packaging, Stemilt selects environmentally-friendly materials that are easier to recycle. For instance, a large number of our fruit boxes are printed on Kraft paper, which requires 5% less wood fiber and 20% less water than boxes built from white paper. Kraft also reduces the Biological Oxygen Demand of waste water by about 50 percent, reducing the electricity required to treat the water.
	Company-wide Recycling Programs: Stemilt has a comprehensive recycling program in place for paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, oil, batteries, and leftover supplies. Additionally, our local fiber tray manufacturer produces more than 8 million fiber apple trays with Stemilt’s recycled paper. Thus, more than 35% of Stemilt’s annual need for fiber apple trays comes from our company’s own recycled materials.