sustaining the sustainability Drive

Floral Industry Reveals Lean, Green Secrets

John Scott Wilkins, Hans Brand, Brian Suslak, Jim Prevor and BJ Dyer share their energy and expertise about environmental efforts within the floral industry.
Everybody talks about "going green," but how do you know when you've got there? You don't, but that doesn't mean you abandon your travel plans.

"As frustrating as it may seem, no one ever passes an official sign on that road that says "'Welcome! You've entered the perfect state of sustainability,'" BJ Dyer, AAF, AIFD, told a packed house during the All Industry Sustainability Session. "Nope, instead you'll constantly hear, 'Are we there yet?' That's OK. Enjoy the journey."

Fellow panelists, including a grower, wholesaler and supplier, chimed in on the "not a destination, but a journey" chorus when defining their company' efforts toward sustainability. "What I took from all of us and heard from others was sustainability is continuous process improvement. You can't boil the ocean with sustainability," says John Scott Wilkins of Delaware Valley Floral Group. "Start out small, achieve successes and continue to build on the program year after year after year."

Wilkins and Dyer joined Hans Brand of B&H Flowers, Brian Suslak of W.J. Cowee and moderator Jim Prevor, a renowned business expert and publisher of the Perishable Pundit on stage as they detailed the steps big and small their organizations are taking — and the challenges of traveling on what's still an unmarked road.

Dyer told attendees that although Bouquets continuously rolls out environmentally friendly initiatives, he's not convinced he's far enough down the path to slap a green label on the Denver shop he co-owns with Guenther Vogt, AAF. "Other business are further along than we are, so I concentrate on making sure our customers know what specifically we're doing instead of worrying about labels," he said. And although most customers aren't yet willing to pay more for "green" products, they are thankful that their retailer "has done the environmental work for them," Dyer told the audience.

That gratitude extends along the supply chain to wholesalers that source product from environmentally certified growers and suppliers with sustainable practices.

Here are a few examples of the environmental work done by panelists:

B & H Flowers, a grower in Carpinteria, Calif.

• Collects all rainwater and irrigation water in a percolating pond and holding tanks to recycle the water through a completely self-contained system, resulting in no runoff.

• Inspects plants and water valves daily to minimize wasted water, and has installed high-efficiency water pumps.

• Makes extensive use of beneficial insects, uses soft or organic products in the rare instance treatment is needed, and is increasing the use of certified organic fertilizers. B & H has an extensive recycling program and minimizes waste.

• Is the first flower grower in Santa Barbara County to be VeriFlora-certified as a sustainably grown greenhouse operation.

Delaware Valley Wholesale Florist, with locations nationwide

• Invested in new lighting technologies that have reduced electric usage by 20 percent.

• Implemented a waste management/recycling program that greatly reduces waste going to the landfills and significantly lowered costs.

• Is reviewing options of converting a portion of its power to solar energy.

• Hosts energy summits to promote better ways to utilize energy within its distribution fleets and uses technology to monitor and control fuel utilization and engine performance.

• Recently re-certified by VeriFlora.

W.J. Cowee, a supplier of floral picks based in Berlin, N.Y.

• Pledged to promote forest sustainability by only using timber properly and legally harvested in accordance with sound environmental and sustainability practices.

• Uses virtually all of its waste material from production (wood timber) to create the steam energy required to manufacture its products and heat the factory buildings. The result: no appreciable amounts of carbon fossil fuel.

• Spearheading a public relations campaign to educate the industry about global deforestation and its effect on the earth's environment and eco-systems.

Bouquets, a retailer in Denver

• Recycles all cardboard from flower and product shipments as part of standard recycling program.

• Reuses incoming packing and shipping materials for outgoing shipments (and gives customers the reused vase boxes, to support their pick-up arrangements during home transport).

• Installed electric hand dryers to replace paper towels in restrooms, replaced paper towels with cloth work towels.

• Changed most of its halogen and incandescent lighting to more energy-efficient compact-fluorescent bulbs.

• Purchases locally grown floral products when possible and practical.

• Subsidizes commuting costs for employees who use public transportation. More than 75 percent of the staff use public transportation or bicycle to work.

• Markets a recycle/reuse program offering credit to those who bring in used vases and other floral containers.

• Markets indoor fresh floral arrangements as an alternative to overuse of water in lush landscapes (in light of the region's extended drought).

• Uses a floral preservative system that allows initial processing water to be reused over weeks, saving both water and preservatives.

• Uses timers for lighting, signage and HVAC systems.

• Uses carbon-dioxide-producing technology in the coolers to lower demand on refrigeration systems. It also inhibits aerobic bacteria, botrytis and mold, so less bleach and disinfecting chemicals are used. The compressor room is cooled with an environmentally friendly evaporative cooler system, to lower demand on air-conditioning.