It is undeniable that there is a climate crisis, a crisis of natural disasters and depleting natural resources, with the planet unable to heal fast enough to meet our human driven consumption and lack of sustainable activities.
It is undeniable that there is a climate crisis, a crisis of natural disasters and depleting natural resources, with the planet unable to heal fast enough to meet our human driven consumption and lack of sustainable activities.
At Sparta Gourmet, we have adopted actions to combat climate change and protect nature within our immediate communities of producers, employees, and geographical region.
Our strategy is based on 4 pillars:
- Creating value for our local community by investing in local production and employment
- Product quality and innovation
- Sustainability
- Social return
We REDUCE our carbon footprint for long term sustainability by increasing the use of renewable energy sources.
The reduction and elimination of fossil fuel driven energy consumption that is a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) that exacerbates climate change is a prime target of our action plan.
At Sparta Gourmet, we consider the reduction of our energy needs and the use of renewable energy sources as a sustainable combination to tackle this issue. In 2020, we added a 500 kW solar panel system to our facility’s expansive roof on a net metering basis. Net metered solar energy production provides direct solar powered electricity to run our production and all surplus power generated is then provided free of charge to our local power grid.
The combination of energy efficient machinery with monitored energy consumption for increased awareness, and the use of renewable energy sources is helping us achieve our green energy targets and an added benefit is the ability to share these efforts with our community and increase awareness and sensitivity to the importance of green energy.
From 2020 until today, the total renewable energy we have produced is equal to the preservation of more than 9,225 trees. Thanks to an innovative application, we observe energy generated and consumption as well as electricity donated to the local power grid in real-time. Get access to our live energy profile here.
REUSE and RECYCLE is the key to reducing WASTE.
WATER
We adopted an innovative method of biological purification of the water we use during our production process in our facilities, with a reverse osmosis system. This system removes contaminants from the unfiltered water when pressure pushes it through a semi permeable membrane. Water flows from the more concentrated side (more contaminants) of the RO membrane to the less concentrated side (less contaminant) to provide clean water. In this way, we can reuse water in our production process, reducing our freshwater consumption.
PACKAGING MATERIALS
The packaging materials we use are environmental friendly, either 100% recyclable, or reusable (mainly glass, and secondarily aluminum, paper and to a very small extent plastic). Even the pallets on which our products are packaged are reusable.
At the same time, we try to reduce our environmental footprint, recycling daily most of the things we use in our operation, in the permanently installed bins of the Municipality onsite, such as:
• Glass
• Aluminum
• Plastic
• Paper
• Cartons
• Printer toner
• Light bulbs
• Batteries
UTILIZATION OF OLIVE BY-PRODUCTS
PRODUCTION AND USE OF OLIVE BIOMASS
Seeking new ways to reduce waste and reuse, upcycle or reclaim by products from our processes, we work towards a cyclical future.
The use of the olive pit and the olive emulsion, the byproduct remaining after the olive oil extraction for olive biomass.
Olive Biomass is a new biofuel that can be used as a clean, organic biomass fuel for incineration in industrial and residential heating generators. The raw material used for its production is the olive kernel emulsion and olive pits, which after a technical process is cleaned to leave only the wood. Olive Biomass is an ecological, renewable energy source, with high calorific value, low ash and no odor.
In addition to its use in our production process, we also offer it to our cooperating producers at cost, sharing with them the economic benefit of a sustainable operation, assisting them to reduce costs of production and ensuring their farms and homes are run on clean energy, protecting the environment and their health.
DEFOLIATION
During the processing of the olive, before its oiling, the defoliation takes place. All these leaves that we collect, we offer them to the farmers of our community for animal feed.
Lastly
at Sparta Gourmet we raise the awareness of our employees about the benefits of recycling and every year we set higher targets for the rates of energy, water and waste recycling in our production units.
Our company has an environmental management certification in accordance to standard ISO 14001, showing our commitment to continuous improving our environmental performance.
