Four Seasons Produce: 50001 Ready Facility
Background
Since it moved into its 266,000-square foot fruit and vegetable refrigerated warehouse facility in Ephrata, Penn., in 2004, Four Seasons Produce has been vigorously engaged in sustainability efforts to reduce energy costs and consumption. In 2009, the company was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program for being the first refrigerated warehouse to achieve their label. In 2012, Four Seasons Produce participated in a Continuous Energy Improvement (CEI) program with PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, which set the foundation for a culture of energy management by establishing an energy policy, energy team, and energy reporting model.
Solutions
In May 2017, Portland, Oregon-based environmental consultant Strategic Energy Group (SEG) recruited Four Seasons Produce to participate in the 50001 Ready program, based on their history of strong leadership support for innovation in sustainability.
Four Seasons Ephrata, Penn. received 50001 Ready recognition again in 2018. Check back for an update, coming soon.
Implementing a 50001 Ready Energy Management System
- Time commitment: Approximately 80 hours over five weeks
- Energy team: Drawn from various departments throughout the company
- Energy performance modeling: Regression-based modeling using EnPI Lite
- Keys to success: (1) Approach the Navigator tasks non-linearly. (2) Take advantage of forms and spreadsheets available in the Navigator.
Other Benefits
Four Seasons Produce was recognized by DOE as the first 50001 Ready facility in June 2017.
Key Takeaways
Four Seasons Produce notes that the Continual Improvement section of the 50001 Ready Navigator has been particularly complementary with their previous participation in the PPL's CEI program. By implementing rigorous methods of monitoring, measurement, and corrective improvement, Four Seasons Produce was able to reinforce and further improve upon operations and best lessons learned from the CEI program.
Participation in the 50001 Ready program has also helped the company identify no- and low-cost operational opportunities to supplement capital projects to improve energy improvement. Approximately 25% of their currently identified opportunities for energy savings are attributed to low- and no-cost operational improvements—a number anticipated to increase as the energy team continues to adopt the energy management culture.
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