Avendra recently hosted an Earth Day Event for its Associates and local clients to learn about the environment and sustainable solutions. As part of Avendra’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, Avendra tries to combine raising awareness about the environment with supporting activities that make a positive impact.

The event began with Totally Green, an approved Avendra supplier, presenting their revolutionary ORCA machine, a food waste disposal solution that promotes sustainability, cost efficiency, and environmental stewardship. The ORCA “digests” up to 2,400 pounds (over 1 ton) of food waste per day. Within 24 hours, this innovative technology turns food waste into an environmentally safe liquid that flows straight into the municipal sewage system. This alternative solution to traditional organic/food waste hauling/composting eliminates the production of methane gas, reduces emissions related to the transportation of waste, and ultimately provides meaningful cost savings for customers.

By having the ORCA and representatives from Totally Green onsite, attendees could see and understand the benefits of how the ORCA can help both individual properties and clients by adopting this technology.

Another main focus of this year’s event was pollinators. Pollinators are essential for food production which impacts both people at the individual level, as well as our industry. Pollinators face threats around the world and their demise can have broad implications for ecosystems as well as food production.

Outside, professionals from LandCare, also an approved Avendra supplier, educated associates on the importance of pollinators in the environment to the production of food for humans. Working together, Avendra and LandCare representatives planted a “Pollinator Garden,” containing local annuals and perennials to attract bees, butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds which help our global eco-system and the food chain. Wildflower seed packets and small potted plants were also provided to all associates. Pat Carter, bee expert from LandCare, shared information on the plight of the bee and how wild and managed pollinators, like honey bees, are pertinent to the production of 75 percent of 115 major global crops.

According to the Sierra Club, “Bees have a lot going against them, most notably colony-collapse disorder, which many researchers now believe is the result of widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides… more policy makers should regard bee conservation as an issue of environmental justice.”

Additionally, a raffle was conducted with prizes donated by LandCare and Totally Green. Avendra associates raised $896 for The Pollinator Partnership, a non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems. Associates who participated in our Denim Day fundraiser also raised more than $500 to support the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Lastly, Avendra Associates were encouraged to submit sustainability pledges throughout the event, as a way to reflect on what changes they can make in their day-to-day lives, to help positively impact the environment.

Avendra suppliers ARYZTA, Smuckers, Kellogg’s, and Coastal Sunbelt also generously donated  bread, baked goods, honey, crackers, fresh locally grown produce, and cheeses to this event.