In a market like the U.S. where more than 30% of food is thrown away, the need for solutions reducing food and energy waste is becoming increasingly urgent.
With that focus the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has updated their Scope 1 and 2 filing requirements regarding energy usage for larger corporations.
While it may seem a stretch to connect SEC rulings with foodservice, there is in fact a direct connection between the nation’s accelerated SEC filing companies and the dining facilities that they operate for their employee base across the nation.
This includes both Fortune 100 firms and a number of the US’ most prestigious firms.
One New York based firm has been at the forefront of helping large companies to create innovative sustainability strategies: Hydr8. The company has a line-up of novel kitchen improvements that promise to reduce energy consumption for firms.
Hydr8’s RJ Bianculli detailed the many energy-saving techniques implemented in the company’s revolutionary Zer0 Waste Pantry. Bianculli is the company’s Managing Partner and creator of the Zer0 Waste Pantry.
“In a wide-reaching and landmark ruling, the Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled that climate risk is financial risk. In early-March, the governing body enacted a series of rules designed to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies. Doing so creates a level playing field for investors to better understand the persistent and growing risk that climate change poses to the operations of many publicly traded companies.”
The new filing rules help companies be more transparent both about their energy usage, and about climate-related risks. “The SEC’s goal is for prospective investors to get a clearer picture of what they are funding,” Bianculli explained.
“More importantly, the new SEC ruling is likely to catalyze investment into sustainability by driving more capital into innovations and technologies promoting renewable energy use, food waste reduction solutions, and reduced energy expenditure.”
The SEC’s mandated Scopes 1 and 2 focus primarily on the regulation of energy use within these large corporations’ operating capabilities.
Consider, for example, the energy expenditures involved with maintaining office facilities, operating a fleet of vehicles, or even simply purchasing energy from the grid.
The new rules outline how large, public corporations can disclose what their energy portfolios look like in both numerical and written terms.
In a quantitative sense, the ruling asks businesses to specify what components of their operations use energy and how much, and, more importantly, to relate this information to their carbon footprint.
“In a qualitative sense, the ruling also asks businesses to explain the risks that climate change may have on their existing business models,” Bianculli continued.
For larger food service operators, the new filing guidelines may appear intimidating – so many aspects of daily foodservice operations entail high levels of energy expenditure, like use of a refrigerator, freezer, oven, or beverage dispenser.
Hydr8, with their revolutionary Zer0 Waste Pantry and new appliance programming modes, is looking to make things easier.
“One of the things we did in the Zer0 Waste Pantry is develop and integrate ways that our assets can reduce energy by being programmed into our eco-modes, which we can measurably report,” detailed Bianculli.
These new use modes are especially effective at reducing energy expenditure in machines like beverage dispensers that sit idly for long periods of time.
Hydr8’s eco-mode can reduce energy use by 80% in these machines, which, when scaled across an entire company’s operations, can result in significant energy efficiencies and cost savings.
As the energy economy becomes increasingly strained by the further electrification of our world, cutting back use wherever possible becomes increasingly important.
In New York City, whose grid is increasingly strained by skyrocketing demand, new laws aim to cut back on energy use in commercial spaces.
Local Law 97, for example, is a new city-wide ordinance that caps carbon dioxide emissions per square-foot of space in commercial buildings greater than 25,000 square feet in size.
For large corporations housed in commercial spaces exceeding the size minimum, finding solutions to minimize energy use and carbon footprint has never been more important.
Many large operators had anticipated the compliance changes from the SEC and the new laws from the City of New York. The release of Hydr8’s Zer0 Waste Pantry earlier this year gave many of these companies a jump in anticipating the upcoming requirement changes.
A number of those companies were on hand at last month’s annual SHFM (Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management) Critical Issues Conference.
Several of those companies have already found significant energy-savings in their cafeterias and office spaces with the addition of the Hydr8’s Zer0 Waste Pantry.
Bianculli sees the Pantry as being an apt response to increasing demand in the market for ways for large corporations to control their energy waste, packaging waste and food waste.
“With innovations like reporting programs that can quantify the kilowatts of energy saved by Hydr8’s eco-mode,” he said, “and the streamlining of processes through reduced-usage and renewable systems like compostable packaging and the leveraging of solar power, the company is setting the gold standard in energy sustainability practices and paving a way to the future.”
The SEC’s filing requirement update makes clear that there is no better time to consider energy and food waste, and the impacts of climate change on business operations.
With their revolutionary Zer0 Waste Pantry, Hydr8 leads the industry in providing companies with sustainable, efficient solutions that help fight against climate change while reducing the cost burden of energy waste.
For more information regarding Hydr8 and their Zer0 Waste Pantry, visit hydr8 website.
