PORTLAND — Oakhurst Dairy, northern New England’s largest independent family-owned dairy company, recently announced it has been recognized for its best in class sustainable business practices.
At a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Bill Bennett, president of Oakhurst Dairy, accepted an award for honorable mention for Outstanding Dairy Processing and Manufacturing in the first-ever U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. The inaugural award program is designed to recognize dairy farms, dairy companies and collaborative partnerships for efforts that advance the sustainability of the dairy industry.
“Oakhurst Dairy has made caring for the environment and their community a core value,” Erin Fitzgerald, senior vice president of sustainability for the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, said in a news release. “By developing a sustainability road map, they are able to focus on key opportunities and track progress against their goals. We commend them for their successes to date and hope that their actions are emulated by many companies.”
Oakhurst Dairy was recognized for its formal sustainability program, which has set 20 percent reduction goals across aspects of the operation by 2014. The company has established an internal process to monitor, evaluate and benchmark improvements. Over a two-year period (2008-2010), Oakhurst reduced its plant energy, greenhouse gas emissions, water use and transportation fuel use by roughly 10 percent each — almost halfway to its 2014 goals.
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