Environment
Harris Tea Foodservice is minority-owned, socially engaged and actively working to reduce our impact on the environment.
We continue making significant strides toward decarbonization by reducing our overall energy usage, and by increasing our use of clean energy. Our Reduce, Reuse and Recycle approach helps us reduce material in the waste stream. Plus, we continue looking for ways to make product packaging 100% sustainable.
Along with investing in the health, happiness and welfare of our employees, we also established the Harris Freeman Foundation to improve the lives and livelihood of growers and their families in our product-sourcing regions.
Protecting the Environment
Harris Tea Foodservice cares for the environment not just because it benefits tea cultivation, but because it’s the right thing to do. Our customers, their customers and our suppliers will feel good about connecting to our company.
We publicly communicate our progress through the Carbon Disclosure Project—the gold standard for corporate environmental reporting.
Greener Energy Usage
In the pursuit of superior sustainability, the Harris Tea Foodservice organization continues making significant strides toward decarbonization by reducing our overall energy usage, and by increasing our use of clean energy.
We’ve installed clean energy technologies in all our manufacturing plants, including:
- A 1.1 million+ kW solar power system
- Motion sensors for all warehouse lighting, with a blackout policy for periods of non-use
- Automated roll-up doors in temperature-controlled areas
- LED lighting
Due to efforts in these and many other parts of our organization, Harris Tea Foodservice has achieved a 27% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2009 and kept thousands of metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.
What’s more, we also regularly vet our suppliers on a Vendor Score Card according to their commitments to safeguarding the environment.
Smarter Packaging
Harris Tea Foodservice takes a Reduce, Reuse and Recycle approach to keeping more of the packaging material we utilize out of the waste stream.
- We use 100% virgin, 100% recyclable board for cartons
- We’ve designed self-sealed cartons to eliminate plastic overwrap on some many retail cartons
- We use 100% pulp-based packaging material certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
- We are actively testing new eco-friendly alternatives for remaining non-sustainable materials
