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I am thrilled to share the launch of Vanguard
Renewables’ Farm Powered Strategic
Alliance (FPSA) — along with our founding partners
Unilever, Starbucks and
Dairy Farmers of America. This historic alliance commits to reducing food
waste from manufacturing and the supply chain and repurposing any unavoidable
waste into renewable energy via Vanguard Renewables’ farm-based anaerobic
digesters.
FPSA members also commit to begin the process of decarbonizing their thermal
energy usage, by converting to renewable natural gas (RNG) derived from
their food waste. It is a call to action for the food industry to embrace this
simple, circular relationship between food waste and its potential reduction of
greenhouse gases. By committing to food-waste recycling, FPSA members have moved
climate change and regenerative
agriculture
to the forefront of their sustainability agendas.
This unprecedented commitment by food industry leaders is an inducement for
others to work to avert a climate crisis and shape a sustainable future for the
US and the planet. The initial members of the Alliance came together because
they understand that their potential for greatest, immediate impact on climate
change would be to take waste out of landfills, separate the gas from the
beneficial nutrients, and return those nutrients to the soil. This
transformative movement will repurpose food waste that cannot be eliminated into
renewable energy and low-carbon fertilizer for farm use. Working with our FPSA
partners, we plan to expand our organics-recycling facility network to all major
metro areas nationwide over the next five years.
Tackling food waste while supporting US farms
The food-waste recycling revolution that started in Europe is now beginning
to take hold in the US, where more than 40 percent of all food produced ends up
in incinerators and landfills. Project Drawdown’s 2020
Review
cites food-waste reduction as the number-one solution in a list of 80+ solutions
for combating climate change. While eliminating food waste is a priority; some
amount of waste is unavoidable due to health, safety or quality concerns — for
which the food is still discarded.
A Farm Powered anaerobic digester at Bar-Way Farm in Deerfield, Massachusetts | Image courtesy of Vanguard Renewables
Food waste can either end up as a damaging greenhouse gas or as renewable
natural gas — a powerful tool in fighting climate change. Vanguard Renewables
uses anaerobic digesters on
farms
to capture this energy and generate RNG to be used in homes and manufacturing
plants across the nation. Moreover, the process produces low-carbon fertilizer
that host farms use to support regenerative agriculture practices. This in turn
supports US farmers with increased crop production and decreased costs.
How the alliance will work
Vanguard Renewables is one of the country’s leading food waste recyclers — with
more than 20 Farm Powered anaerobic digesters in operation, construction and
development across the United States. Vanguard will continue to site and build
new facilities to provide the opportunity for organics recycling for the current
and future Farm Powered Strategic Alliance partners. Alliance members commit to
sending their endemic waste to a Vanguard Renewables anaerobic digester and to
procure the resulting RNG to lower their dependence on fossil fuels.
Food industry leaders issue ‘call to action’
My expectation is that the FPSA will grow to include other leading US food
manufacturers and retailers; and will have the potential to not only reduce the
members’ direct emissions, but to also reduce the hard to move Scope 3
emissions
from their supply chain partners. The arrangement provides a sustainable use for
their food waste while generating carbon-negative, renewable energy to power the
partners’ facilities. What’s important to note is the significant impact that
the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance will have on the sustainability of farms
across the country, for future generations.
For our current and future partners with food retail and supply chain
operations, the FPSA has far-reaching benefits. Ale Eboli, Head of Supply
Chain Operations for Unilever North America said it well:
“Unilever is accelerating action to fight climate change, regenerate nature and
preserve resources. We are excited to join the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance,
and are inspired by their vision to repurpose our unavoidable food waste to
support renewable energy production and regenerative agriculture practice on
farms across America. We cannot transition to a low-carbon economy alone, and
encourage other businesses to join us in this crucial alliance.”
Starbucks Chief Sustainability Officer Michael Kobori notes:
“The Farm
Powered Strategic Alliance is an impactful solution to tackling both food waste
and carbon emissions. We’ve made great strides in eliminating food waste at the
store level with our Starbucks Foodshare program, which has helped divert 25
million meals from landfills. The FPSA offers an innovative solution for our
supply chain, and brings us one step closer to our goal of a resource-positive
future.”
Dairy Farmers of America joined the Alliance to continue its important work on
climate-change reduction.
“Dairy Farmers of America has been working with Vanguard Renewables for more
than six years to empower family farms and support a more circular economy,”
said David Darr, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer for Dairy Farmers of
America. “Anaerobic digestion can change the economics and carbon footprint of a
farm, allowing generational sustainability and energy independence. We are
excited to see many more of our farms and dairy processing facilities taking
advantage of the new carbon economy to make a positive impact on America.”
The FPSA is bigger than the sum of its parts
We all believe that today’s announcement is just the first step in building a
coalition of like-minded companies that are committed to our country’s
low-carbon future. The FPSA returns nutrients to our soil, displaces fossil
fuels, and creates a business model for generations to come.
A farmer’s perspective
The Melnik family of Bar-Way Farm | Image courtesy of Vanguard Renewables
Even before COVID hit, farms had been under extreme financial stress. According
to Farm Aid, between 2013 and 2018 farmers experienced a nearly 50 percent
drop in net farm income — as prices for corn, wheat, dairy, beef and other farm
products crashed.
Peter Melnik of Bar-Way
Farm in
Deerfield, Massachusetts — host of a Farm Powered anaerobic digester — says:
"When I took over the farm in the ’90s after college, what was key to me was
sustainability — making the farm economically viable, environmentally viable,
viable for the neighbors and the surrounding community, and a good place to grow
up and to be."
Bar-Way Farm is a multi-generational, 600-acre dairy farm, founded in 1919 and
operated by Steven Melnik and his son, Peter. More than 300 cows are milked
each day, producing an average of 2,000 gallons of milk daily. The farm is a
member of Dairy Farmers of America.
Vanguard Renewables’ Farm Powered Anaerobic Digester was constructed at Bar-Way
Farm in 2016 and features a 660,000-gallon capacity anaerobic digester tank. The
facility combines more than 9,000 tons of manure and 36,500 tons of food waste
annually and converts it to renewable energy. This offsets more than 2 million
pounds of CO2 emissions annually. The 7,700 MWh of renewable energy produced
each year by the Deerfield anaerobic digester system is enough to power 1,600
homes.
Manure from the farm operation and organic food and beverage waste are combined
in the digester to produce renewable energy and low-carbon fertilizer. The farm receives an annual lease payment for hosting the anaerobic digester and energy savings. They also receive no-cost animal bedding, hot water and heat.
“If you’re just going to milk cows or grow lettuce, that’s really hard because
it’s cyclical; you need to be diversified and not depend upon just one income
stream. A lot of dairies have been really struggling; the Farm Powered anaerobic
digester has been an important part of making our farm sustainable,” Melnik
says.
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