Sustainability

Emory Knoll Farms is committed to being a sustainable operation.  Sustainability means that we don't take more out of the Earth than we are able to put back.  While we not perfect, and we can always do a little better; we continue in this dedication and hope to grow to be completely sustainable as we grow in size.  We believe that it's not that hard to be sustainable, and everyone can be more friendly to the environment.  To that end, we'd like to share some of the ways we're working to be more sustainable.  Some of the current and future sustainability initiatives we working on include:

 Conservation Initiatives (Reduce Consumption)

• We grow plants for the green roof industry, which we ship directly to the customer’s jobsite where they are installed immediately.  We grow our plants in standard 10x20 nursery trays, in a 72 deep cell / tray.  This format allows us to provide a high quality product, yet maximize greenhouse space, and minimize effort that goes into watering, packing, shipping, and carriage to the rooftop.
• We have never used a paper catalog. 

• This is unique in the wholesale horticultural trade. 
• All of our information is available only on the internet.  Even our online catalog is formatted to provide useful information and dramatic photos, but discourages printing. 
• This saves tons of paper annually and the associated cost of development, printing, and mailing.

• We minimize water consumption through the use of:

• Covered houses in the winter
• Shade cloth in the summer. 
• Manually watering most plants to apply the water directly where it is needed to further conserve water.

• Our water wells are solar powered.
• We overwinter our entire inventory in unheated greenhouses. 

• Heat is only used in propagation houses and to protect tender plants.

• We have installed compact fluorescent and high-efficiency fluorescent lights throughout the business.
• We purchase Energy-Star equipment whenever possible.
• Our computers are set to maximum power saving modes
• A 1.2kVA solar photovoltaic array offsets a significant portion of our electricity usage.  The remainder is purchased as wind power credits
• We are attempting to reduce our overall footprint on the land by:

• Re-establishing native flora and fauna on the remainder of the farm 
• Of the 135 unused acres of land, about 40 is in forest or reforestation 
• The remainder is open meadow. 
  • We mow this land a single time each the fall to knock back non-natives such as multiflora rose
  • We invest time and effort at eradicating invasive plant species as well. 

Re-Use Initiatives

• We recover used nursery flats from the waste stream of other nearby nurseries. 
  • To date, EKF has never purchased nursery flats (bottom trays). 
  • When we deliver plants to construction sites, we return the empty bottom trays to the farm to be reused.
• We use compose that comes from spent mushroom soil that is discarded by the mushroom industry of nearby Southeast Pennsylvania.
• We recently improved our planting media mix. 
  • Our prior mix uses mostly Canadian peat which is non renewable and has a significant transportation impact. 
  • Moved to Biocomp, a composted peanut hull / pine needle mix from North Carolina, and a locally produced compost/coir/peat mix. 
  • Both of these mixes use peat, but Biocomp has far less than our prior mix.
• We gather used cooking oil and kitchen grease from local restaurants. 
  • The oil is burned for heat in our waste-oil boiler or made into biodiesel in our own biodiesel processor. 
  • Several employees have modified their personal cars to use waste vegetable oil as well. 
  • We provide the oil to employees for free, and biodiesel to employees at just the cost of processing it, about $1.20 / gallon.
• We reuse building materials. 
  • The upper level of the barn is space that is dedicated to storing and organizing lumber, parts, materials, and supplies which are recovered from parts of our own operation and other nearby sources (i.e. waste). 
  • These items are used in construction around the farm. 
    • For example, a nearby retired nursery owner gave us dozens of wooden greenhouse supports for temporary snow-load protection.  These are kept by us for use in our own greenhouses. 
  • In fact, local farmers are aware of our desire to reuse materials, and call us regularly with offerings that they would otherwise throw away.
• We reuse cardboard and boxes. 
  • All cardboard containers that come into our operation are kept for re-use. 
  • Odd sizes and excess are recycled.
• Office Supplies
  • We use 100% recycled office paper
• Capital projects are implemented using locally obtained used materials as much as possible. 
  • We use eBay, Craigs list, local bargain papers, and personal relationships as sources for locally available materials. 
  • Materials that we have obtained in this ways include:
    • Barrels (Free) for trash, oil storage, Biodiesel Processor Parts
    • Hot Water Heaters (Free) for Biodiesel Processor.
    • Irrigation Pipe & Fittings (Free) from nearby nurseries and retired farmers.
    • Solar Water Panels & Tanks (10% of new cost) obtained locally from eBay sale.
    • Used Waste Oil Boiler (40% of new cost), obtained by barter of plants from a local business.
    • Pavers (Free or deeply discounted) obtained as overstock and damaged goods from a local distributor.
    • Roof Observation Deck (Barter for Plants) was constructed by a local non-profit job training enterprise in exchange for plants for their green roof.
• We purchase computers and related items such as printers from the Dell Outlet of refurbished items.
  • These items save money, and reduce construction of new computers. 
  • We receive the value of original warranty and service plans as if the equipment were brand new.

Recycling Efforts

• Note that we recycle very little.  This is a result of the efforts to minimize consumption first
• Office and packaging are recycled:
  • plastic,
  • glass,
  • Office paper,
  •  cardboard,
  • printer cartridges, etc.
• Greenhouse plastic is recycled.
• We recently found a recycler that will take our plug trays (polystyrene).  We now encourage customers to return plug trays to us for recycling.

Financial & Operations Efforts

We feel that sustainability doesn’t end with ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’.  Being good corporate citizens is a sustainable practice as well.  Likewise, we implement financial initiatives that are aimed at conserving our financial resources and growing our business responsibly (in a manner that will enable us to sustain our business, our employees, and the stakeholders even if there is a downturn or some other disaster.)

• We endeavor to hire people who are like-minded in terms of sustainability.  As our reputation grows, this becomes easier.  As we grow, so does our culture of sustainability, making it easier for new employees to assimilate into the culture.
• We pay a living wage and provide the best benefits we can afford.  We have recently implemented:
  • All full time employees are salaried with generous vacation and personal leave policies,
  • Blue Cross Open-Access health care plan, including basic vision coverage,
  • Corporate 401(k) and Roth 401(k) retirement / profit sharing plan. 
    • We established this plan through Social K, which is a socially responsible branch of ExpertPlan which provides such services for small businesses. 
    • Our plan features employer matching, profit sharing, and socially and environmentally responsible investment choices.
• We offer paid summer internships for students majoring in horticulture or other environmentally focused disciplines.
• We rent a two-bedroom house for the use of summer interns and other employees. 
  • As our operation is ‘off the beaten path’ and we endeavor to hire the best people from across the US
  • having local housing available helps us get the best people.
• We manage money on a cash basis.  This means we do not purchase anything unless we have sufficient cash on hand to pay for it.  While we may take a strategic loan, we base all purchasing and hiring decisions on our cash position, not on our credit.
  • Recently we purchased a major piece of equipment (skid steer) which was offered with a zero-percent loan for one year.  It is financially advantageous to use the loan even though we keep sufficient cash to pay for the equipment.) 
• This allows us to make sound business decisions without worrying about the risk of debt service, losing production capability during a downturn, etc.
• We measure performance in meaningful business and sustainability terms. 
  • While we have not completely implemented the measurement process yet, we have begun recording all consumption of energy and supplies. 
  • This will allow us to relate our production to consumables and therefore to manage for better utilization and efficiency.

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Emory Knoll Farms, Inc.

3410 Ady Rd.

Street MD  21154

410-452-5880