Growing Greener Together
November 2013
The Oppenheimer Group
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International Marketer and Distributor of Fresh Produce
40 million packages domestic and import
250 growers/groups from 27 different countries
Sell primarily into North American Retailers
Allow growers to be growers
Use Supply Chain Efficiencies to reduce grower costs
Year round supply of healthy fruits and vegetables
The Oppenheimer Group
Growers are Experts in Growing Produce
Oppenheimer has expertise in:
• Category Management
• Marketing & Sales
• Program sales
• Direct sales
• Market Intelligence
• What to grow
• Retail specifications
• Financing Growers
• Import and Export
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Food Safety
Traceability
Sustainability
Ocean Freight
Cold Chain Management
Transportation
Quality Assurance
Economic Sustainability
• Domestic growers require export markets for premium
returns to be sustainable
• Production exceeds consumption, market saturation
• Growing regions around the world rely on international
markets to survive
• US Department of Agriculture reported 54.3% fresh fruits
and 25.2% fresh vegetables in US produce market were
imports between 1999-2010
Oppenheimer Sustainability Initiatives
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Fair Trade Certification
Rainforest Alliance Certification
Customer Sustainability Audits
Water, Heat and CO2 capture
Solar Panel Energy
Oppenheimer GHG Emissions (Climate Smart)
Measure and Reduce our carbon footprint
• Transportation - Marine, Air, Train, Truck
– Consolidation, Back haul, SmartWay Certification
• Refrigerants
– Transition cooling units from ozone depleting to chlorine free
• Air Travel
– Video conferencing, Limiting trips, Bundle trips
• Office Heating – Programmable thermostats
• Office Electricity – Motion sensors, high energy t5
lighting, sleep mode copiers & computers
Measure and Reduce our carbon footprint
• Paper Usage – electronic data storage, invoices by EDI,
email or fax
• Packaging – Top Seal packaging, 30% less packaging
for clamshells
• Waste Management
– Replaced garbage bags with wet containers and bins
– Donations to food bank, shelters, pig farms, composting
– Black Soldier Fly Pilot Program
• Convert organic waste into larvae
• Produce animal protein, oils and organic fertilizer
• No liquid waste or gas emissions
Sample Carbon Footprint Calculation
Trip
Method
CO2e
Container of Kiwi from NZ to
Vancouver (2200 cartons)
Ocean
4.2 tonnes
Container of Kiwi from Vancouver to
Kelowna (2200 cartons)
Truck
2.1 tonnes
5km round trip consumer pickup one
22lb carton
Midsize
2.7 tonnes
Econ. Car
5km round trip consumer pickup one
5 kiwis
Midsize
49.3 tonnes
Econ. Car
Challenges and Solutions
• Agriculture Challenges
– High land value
– Increasing costs
– Lack of labour
• Emerging programs
– Buy Local, 100 mile diet
– Urban agriculture
- Water Shortages
- Short Growing Season
- Limited Products
A Great Recipe for Making Change
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3rd Alternative Thinking
Knowledge and Research
Open discussion
Safe environment
Youth involvement
Lots at stake
Let make the wheel better