GROWER SUSTAINABILITY
At Oppenheimer, we partner with growers who share our interest in environmental stewardship. We’d like to introduce you to a few of them.

Houweling’s Hot House
Delta, British Columbia & Camarillo, California

Houweling’s tomatoes are grown with the lowest environmental impact per kilogram produced in the industry.

• Energy consumption is balanced by hybrid solar generation.
• 66% reduction in water use is achieved in Camarillo facility.
• Total elimination of runoff, with nutrients retrieved and recycled.
• Optimum food safety protocols.
• Pressurized environment.
• Local production for local consumption.
• Year-round employment and training for over 450 workers.
• In April 2011, Houwelings sustainability efforts were highlighted on PBS’ SoCal Connection television report: www.kcet.org/shows/socal_connected/content/environment/tomato-futures.html
• In May 2011, Houwelings announced that it had recycled over 2,000 tons of organic material (leaves, vines, coco fiber, tomatoes) into a landfill which kept 367 tons of methane from the atmosphere — equivalent of almost 7,000 tons of CO2.
  

Visit the Houweling’s Web site for more: www.houwelings.com

Origin Organic Farms
Delta, British Columbia

Origin Organic Farms blends the best of traditional organic methods with today’s innovation, creating an unparalleled sustainable concept.

• Organic tomatoes and cucumbers are grown under glass in a fully sustainable system focused on recycling of water, plant matter, and soil media.
• Compost is generated through a proprietary approach where leaves, stems, and fruit pruning are gathered throughout the farm then introduced into the accelerated composting system. Compost is main ingredient of high quality soil.
• Sophisticated drainage and irrigation practices assure no water, pesticide or chemical contamination occurs.
• Organic raw material is made into fertilizer, and drip irrigation assures it does not come into contact with the tomatoes and cucumbers as they grow.
• All drainage is recycled for reuse.
• Produces four times the yield of traditional organic field crops.
  

Visit the OriginO Web site for more: www.origino.ca

SunSelect Produce
Abbotsford, British Columbia

SunSelect peppers became the world’s first “climate friendly” sweet bell peppers which were first introduced in 2007.

• Certification is provided by Offsetters, Vancouver, BC, one of Canada’s premier providers of quality carbon offsets.
• Based upon actual heating bills for the system and standard energy models, a third party auditing group verified SunSelect’s emissions reductions of approximately 7,500 metric tons per year relative to the conventional natural gas baseline (white sheets installed under the greenhouses’ gables, and are adjustable with sliding screens that hold the warmth in at night).
• SunSelect can actually create carbon credits by burning wood waste instead of natural gas. These credits can be used to offset carbon emissions arising from the transportation of the peppers to the market.
• Constructed wood waste energy plants at its greenhouse locations in Aldergrove and Delta, B.C. Canada. After obtaining the wood waste — also known as biomass — from a local saw mill, SunSelect employs boilers to create heat. The heat circulates through the boiler tubes, raising the water temperature and heating the greenhouses.
• SunSelect will launch “Pro Select” technology in 2011 whereby the C02 emissions from heating system will be re-purposed as nutrient for the pepper plants.

Visit the SunSelect Web site for more: www.sunselect.ca

Divemex
Culiacan and Etzatlan, Mexico

Divemex sets the gold standard for greenhouse pepper production in Mexico, while conscientiously reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• Fair Trade Certification earned on conventional and organic peppers in 2011
• Awarded the Empresa Socialmente Responsible from CEMEFI (an association dedicated to civic leadership) for conservation, recycling, and philanthropic efforts from 2007-11. They include:
• Water conservation.
• Recycling programs.
• Adult education.
• Child care centers for workers families.
• Fundraising for local fire department.

Visit the Divemex Web site for more: www.divemex.com

Zespri International
Tauranga, New Zealand

The world’s leading kiwifruit innovator, Zespri grows green and gold kiwifruit in New Zealand and beyond.

• Leading the way in the world’s horticultural sector, working in collaboration with the New Zealand Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry to create a comprehensive carbon footprint of New Zealand Kiwifruit to determine their impact on the environment.

Visit the Zespri Web site for more: www.zespri.com

ENZA International
Auckland, New Zealand

ENZA is New Zealand’s leading apple and pear grower-marketer, responsible for introducing such favorites as Granny Smith, Braeburn, Pacific Rose and JAZZ™.

• Industry leader in Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) a system of environmentally purposeful growing techniques with a focus on reduced pesticide use.
• Reduces pesticide applications and tracks applications through spray diaries.
• Establishes and protects “friendly” predators.
• Collection of data electronically through trap records and spray diaries, allowing high level mapping to see if pockets of pests exist and what corrective actions the grower took.
• Apple Futures program is in its third year of developing, testing and refining production methods to deliver fruit with low or nil pesticide residues. All major apple growing regions in New Zealand are involved.

Visit the ENZA Web site for more: www.enza.co.nz

Sunshine Mangoes, Peru

Sunshine Exports is a cooperative of more than 300 organic and conventional mango producers located in the valleys of Peru’s Piura, Lambayeque, and Ancash regions.

• Promotes integrated pest control primarily through the use of biological methods, reducing the impact of production on the Earth.
• Touches the lives of roughly 1,000 local families with medical assistance and summer school classes, and lends expertise to Agrovida, a group of Fair Trade Kent mango growers in the Piura Valley.
• Helps support Peruvian economy by providing hundreds of jobs.

Visit the Sunshine Web site for more: www.sunshineperu.com

LaBrunier Grapes, Brazil

The highest-volume table grape grower in Brazil, Labrunier is comprised of five farms situated in the São Francisco Valley, encompassing 2,400 hectares (roughly 6,000 acres), of which 900 hectares (over 2,200 acres) are allocated for grape production.

• “Adopt a School” program that benefit over 4,500 students annually.
• Social projects involving workers and their families, contributing to local development in the Brazilian northeast, a region known for high poverty rates.
• Focus on resource preservation, including measures that sharply reduce water use.

» Read more about the people behind our produce