Vons puts out bio-diesel fueled grocery trucks

Initiatives and state mandates that could be on this year’s election ballot have pushed some California businesses to start shifting toward cleaner energy.
Vons grocery store, the third largest grocery retailer in Southern California, has recently launched many energy-efficiency campaigns, along with having its 300 fleet of grocery trucks fully converted with bio-diesel fueled engines by June. Bio-diesel produces substantially low emissions known as a carbon neutral fuel, compared to regular diesel. Most fuel mixtures are partly made from either fresh or used vegetable oil.
The grocery chain, owned by Safeway since 1994, began phasing in the bio-diesel truck models in January to promote low emissions and replace the older heavy-polluting diesel trucks that on average drive about 75,000 miles a year.
The pressure comes on the heels of measures proposed for the November 2008 ballot, such as the Renewable Energy and Clean Alternative Fuel Act. The initiative requires California utilities to generate half of their power through renewable sources by 2025 and would at the same time allow state officials to sell $6 billion in bonds for various pollution-reducing purposes and research.
The measure, also known as the Solar and Clean Energy Initiative, will require 433,971 signatures by mid-April to qualify for the ballot.
While some companies take action after a law has passed, Curt Smith, Safeway’s manager of Intex and Recycling Centers, said in many cases, Vons has tried to stay one step ahead of legislation, or at least on the same page.
“It makes good business sense, “ said Smith. “It’s a small transition from diesel to bio-diesel.”
The company’s long history of recycling efforts to turn trash into compost, has earned awards and accolades, but the business hasn’t stopped there.
Since energy efficiency can also lead to cost efficiency in some cases, Vons has started to invest in new forms of recycling, solar power and wind energy for its 300-store operating area.
He said other competitors such as grocery stores like Albertson's have not been as proactive in terms of energy efficiency and recycling.
With a $32.3 billion profit last year, Smith says Vons is familiar with stepping forward on environmental issues before laws and regulations are passed, while balancing market demand and customer needs.
“It’s not a new phenomenon,” he said. “We find out how we could turn what we are losing and make a profit.”
In the 1980s, the state passed Assembly Bill 939 requiring that by 1995 every city in California had to reduce waste by 50 percent, or receive $10,000 fines. Smith said Vons had already been working on a recycling program before the law ever hit the books. But he said it was the requirement that forced the company to take their approach one step further.
Vons initiated a program to turn waste from each store into high-grade organic compost for farms. Currently the company recycles about 90 percent of its 200,000 tons of waste each year, which means only 10 percent is trash. The process of making compost involves mixing nitrogen (fruits and vegetables that have gone bad) with carbon (cardboard, bread and paper), along with what’s called “green waste” and grinding the ingredients down into a usable fertilizer. Throughout many years, the compost has been used in Southern California farms as well as donated to schools.
“It helps give back,” said Vons spokesman Richard Garcia. “It’s the right thing to do environmentally.”
As California progresses each year in terms of clean energy requirements, state agencies such as universities are also getting in line with current legislation.
Cal State Fullerton has formed a Sustainability Initiative Study Group this year to gear up for up coming requirements before they become state law.
Willem van der Pol, director of the university’s physical plant, said sustainability has always been an issue with the campus, having been proactive in recycling waste, increasing energy efficiency and water use in the past. He said the campus currently recycles 60 percent of its waste.
But van der Pol said this year institutions should not only be implementing the practice but also teaching sustainability as a curriculum. He wants to see CSUF take more of a “campus-wide” approach to energy efficiency.
“We want to encourage faculty and staff to come to the campus using alternative fuels,” he said. “The idea of the study group is that we come up with a broad spectrum of what we hope will be approved and promoted.”
In addition to converting a majority of maintenance vehicles into electric carts, some with solar power capabilities, the plans for next semester include changes in construction, such as constructing buildings that are LEED certified, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The state certification recognizes agencies for buildings that use the most energy-saving construction.
CSUF recently filed for a silver certification for the construction of the university’s new Mihaylo Hall business center, which the campus recently received a $30,000 donation for. Once it’s open, along with a new student recreation center, which might receive a gold certification, Willem said he plans on using energy efficient lighting, water conservation and only “green” cleaning products.
“We are working on many levels of sustainability,” Van der Pol said. “It’s smart to be a little bit ahead.”