Vanguard Renewables Launches Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes Program

All news

September 28, 2022

Boston

New England Natural Bakers, Fancypants Baking Co., and Sloop Brewing Co. Sign as Founding Members

Food and beverage industry leaders from New England are joining Vanguard Renewables to launch the Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes. The program aims to collaborate on eliminating food waste from landfills by recycling it into renewable energy on regional dairy farms via Farm Powered^® anaerobic digestion. New England Natural Bakers, Fancypants Baking Co., and Sloop Brewing Co. are founding members committed to diverting food waste, fighting climate change, and helping support dairy farmers across the region.

The regional FPSH program is modeled after the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, launched by founding members Starbucks, Unilever, Dairy Farmers of America, and Vanguard Renewables to tackle food waste generated by multi-regional food and beverage manufacturers. That movement now includes more than 15 national food industry leaders.

The Alliance was founded to bring large food and beverage manufacturers together to share ideas and work towards a joint goal of eliminating food waste and repurposing that into something good for our planet – renewable energy. We quickly learned that smaller regional food and beverage manufacturers desired the same opportunities to share ideas and challenges with their peers. It’s tremendous to see the group come together to work towards waste reduction and ESG goals.

Neil H. Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Vanguard Renewables

The Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes program is a pre-competitive collaboration to share best practices to the benefit of the environment.

New England Natural Bakers is a leader in the production of natural, organic granola products including their latest introduction, TRUNOLA^®. Located in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the employee-owned company markets its products to consumers in conventional pouches and has an extensive assortment of bulk offerings. They’ve been an active contributor to environmental and social improvement initiatives since 1977.

Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, and I’m proud to be a founding member of the Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes program. Recycling our inedible food waste from the manufacturing process into renewable energy is one of the strategies we employ to lower our greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change which is incredibly important to our company and our customers.”

Chuck Marble, President and Chief Executive Officer, New England Natural Bakers

Fancypants Baking Co. in Walpole, MA, is a leader in the baked goods industry and its products are peanut and tree nut free. The company is committed to mindfully sourcing all its clean label ingredients, upcycling ingredients for its products, donating finished products, recycling its food waste into renewable energy, and using recycled packaging. Fancypants is so committed to decarbonization and supporting the clean energy movement that its packaging now features the “Farm Powered” logo, helping to amplify its sustainability goals.

Joining the Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes program is a natural extension of our mission to reduce our impact on the environment by recycling food waste and upcycling other grains to make our cookies and other baked goods. It’s important to us to join with like-minded industry leaders to share ideas and solutions to how we are each tackling our ESG goals so that we can do the most to protect our planet.

Maura Duggan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Fancypants Baking Co.

Since its launch in 2011, East Fishkill, New York’s Sloop Brewing Co. has continued to elevate the craft beer industry with its limited-release cans and a mission of sustainably bringing together upstate New York agriculture and industry. Named after the ships that once carried cargo and passengers up and down the Hudson River, Sloop is changing the craft brewing game in the Hudson Valley and the upstate New York region.

With our location in the Hudson River Watershed, we’re mindful of how we discard the waste from our brewing process. Our spent grain already goes to local farms, and we are thrilled to have a closed loop solution for the rest of our organic waste. By diverting it from landfills and wastewater treatment facilities to one of Vanguard’s Farm Powered anaerobic digesters, we are helping to create renewable energy, supporting local agriculture, keeping our water clean, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions – making all of us at Sloop proud to join the Heroes program.

Adam Watson, President and Cofounder, Sloop Brewing Co.

As Vanguard Renewables expands across the country, more regional businesses will be added to the Heroes program so all businesses in the food and beverage industry, regardless of size, can be a part of the Farm Powered Movement to mitigate climate change.

About New England Natural Bakers

Since 1977, New England Natural Bakers have been producing exciting and nutritious all natural and organic products while contributing to environmental and social improvement initiatives. Located in the foothills of The Berkshire Mountains of western New England, New England Natural Bakers is a 100% employee-owned company that employs over 40 people. In addition to an extensive assortment of bulk products they offer a popular line of pouch granola that includes both organic and conventional formulations that are created with the health of the consumer in mind. In addition to brand products, New England Natural Bakers has a strong private label presence and is a co-packer of choice among discerning manufacturers and retailers. New England Natural Bakers can be found online at New England Natural Bakers, on Facebook and Twitter, or contact Larry Cornick.

About Fancypants Baking Co.

Fancypants Baking Co. is a better-for-you cookie manufacturer, producing cookies for the fresh bakery and grocery departments of natural, conventional, club and online platforms nationwide. Fancypants uses nut-free ingredients, and plant-based dyes, which allows them to capture the growing segment of the population focused on healthier snacking, food allergy awareness and clean, sustainable ingredients. Fancypants’ maintains a zero food waste facility through donation of unused finished product, using upcycled ingredients, and sending all food waste to a Farm Powered anaerobic digester to create renewable energy. Fancypants Baking Co. can be found online at www.fancypantsbakery.com and on Instagram.

About Sloop Brewing Co.

Founded by President Adam Watson and Chief Product Officer Justin Taylor in 2011 in a Poughkeepsie garage, Sloop has gone from selling beer at farmers’ markets and hand delivering kegs to being one of the hundred largest craft breweries in the country. In 2018, Sloop opened their 25,000 square foot brewery in East Fishkill, NY, allowing them to ramp up production of Juice Bomb, Super Soft, the WBC gold medal winning sour Confliction, and their constantly rotating portfolio of limited releases; they also have a full-service restaurant, bar, and private event space all on site. Their beer is currently available in AL, CT, DC, FL, KY, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, and internationally. Named for the boats that once moved people and cargo up and down the Hudson, Sloop is proud to be a part of a growing craft beverage movement and a growing upstate New York economy.

About Vanguard Renewables

Vanguard Renewables, based in Weston, Massachusetts, is a national leader in developing food and dairy waste-to-renewable energy projects. The Company owns and operates on-farm anaerobic digester facilities in the northeast and currently operates manure-only digesters in the south and west for Dominion Energy. Vanguard Renewables plans to expand nationwide to more than 150 anaerobic digestion facilities by 2026. Vanguard Renewables is committed to advancing decarbonization by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farms and food waste, generating renewable energy, and supporting regenerative agriculture on partner farms via Farm Powered® anaerobic digestion. Vanguard Renewables is a portfolio company of BlackRock Real Assets.

Environmental Services

Renewable Energy

Projects

About

Resources

Contact