Carbon neutrality is an approach to preserve the ecological balance of the planet by ensuring that the emission and absorption of carbon from the atmosphere are equal, primarily through carbon sinks. These sinks, which can be natural or artificial, are essential for removing greenhouse gases, aerosols, or their precursors from the atmosphere.
Companies, as major contributors to environmental imbalance, face increasing pressure to take deliberate and coordinated steps to reduce carbon emissions. Engineering and manufacturing, in particular, need to revise their processes and tools to contribute significantly to global sustainability.
Creating large-scale carbon-efficient manufacturing processes is difficult but not impossible. Contessa Premium Foods in California set a precedent by investing in a solar-powered food manufacturing plant that serves as a model for other companies aiming to reduce their carbon footprint. The plant's freezers, working 24 hours per day/ 7 days per week, must stay at 0 F, a substantial demand equivalent to 200,000 refrigerators.
Contessa's innovative approach includes a loading dock with huge door locks that act like gaskets to prevent refrigerated cold air from escaping during loading/unloading. And variable-frequency drives that adjust power to precisely what is being called for by the refrigeration motors and other plant equipment, saving energy during peak operation times. Also, the heat used in refrigeration is channeled back to the building’s boilers, while solar panels and roof-top solar membranes provide power.
To further reduce environmental impact, all the plant’s construction materials were sourced from within 500 miles to minimize traffic and exhaust impact. Though making a large frozen food manufacturing plant, running 24/7 refrigeration, environmentally friendly is difficult, company founder and builder John Blazevich led Contessa Premium Foods to achieve the seemingly impossible by using an eco-friendly solar solution.
