Green Business Practices

 

Rincon-Vitova has accepted the 2030 challenge and is working to reduce our energy consumption to carbon neutral. We care about our foot print on Mother Earth and invite you to join us and do your part.

 

The 2030 Challenge

What Rincon-Vitova is doing

What you can do

The 2030 Challenge

Slowing the growth rate of greenhouse gas emissions and then reversing it over the next ten years will require immediate action and a concerted global effort. As Architecture 2030 from Edward Mazria has shown, buildings are the major source of of demand for energy and materials that produce by-product greenhouse gases. Stabilizing emissions in this sector and then reversing them to acceptable levels is key to keeping global warming to approximately a degree centigrade (°C) above today’s level.

 

To accomplish this we are issuing the “2030 °Challenge” asking the global architecture and building community to adopt the following targets:

 

That all new buildings and developments be designed to use 1/2 the fossil fuel energy they would typically consume (1/2 the country average for that building type).

That at a minimum, an equal amount of existing building area* be renovated annually to use 1/2 the amount of fossil fuel energy they are currently consuming (through design, purchase of renewable energy and/or the application of renewable technologies).

That the fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings be increased to:

 

60% in 2010
70% in 2015
80% in 2020
90% in 2025


Carbon-neutral by 2030 (using no fossil fuel GHG emitting energy to operate).

We know these targets are readily achievable and that most buildings can be designed to use only a small amount of energy at little or no additional cost through proper siting, building form, glass properties and location, material selection and by incorporating natural heating, cooling, ventilation, and day-lighting strategies. The additional energy a building would then need to maintain comfort and operate equipment can be supplied by renewable sources such as solar (photovoltaics, hot water heating, etc.), wind, biomass and other viable carbon-free sources.

 

To meet the “2030 °Challenge”, we must not only design high-performance and carbon-neutral buildings but advocate actions that will require all buildings and developments to meet these targets as well (through building codes, government regulations and legislation). (from the Architexture 2030 website)

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What Rincon-Vitova is Doing

 

In August 2004 we came on line with 5 KW photovoltaic aray (solar electric) on one of our buildings that supplies about one third of our electric needs. The electricity is fed to the electric grid for a discount on our electric bill. The expected life time of the panels is 25 years with potential 50 years of service at lower than rated output.

More about our solar system.

 

RVI's next project is installing solar collectors to capture the suns heat to warm its insect rearing rooms. Insects average around 80 degree F heat to reproduce rapidly and stay healthy. To produce this heat RVI has used primarily gas heaters with some supplemental electric heat. This has been a burden of overhead for the company and led to problems from the drying nature of the heat and occasional failure of heaters. The planned hydronic heating, where pipes are laid on the floor of a room and covered with concrete, produces a very even heat and makes humidity control easy - just spray water on the floor.

 

Reducing the need for power is another strategy for increasing energy independence and decreasing operating expenses. Rincon-Vitova Insectaries, installed a new energy efficient walk in refrigerator to replace an ancient inefficient refrigerated cargo shipping container. Insulation was placed in the ceiling of some insect rearing rooms and an office area to increase heating efficiency. Solar powered turbine vents remove heat from some rooms and solar lighting illuminates walkways between buildings at night. An office rehab will be snuggly wrapped in insulation and have double glazed windows to isolate the workers inside from outside temperatures and the traffic sounds of nearby Highway 33.

 

Gray water from a shower and office rehab is pumped into elevated tanks to supply landscaping with water. The landscaping is primarily food producing plants. Called foodscaping, this provides the employees with fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year. A diverse mix of mature citrus, plums, avocados, sapote, persimmon and olive provide interesting fare. Newly planted grapes, passion fruit, and kiwi promise good eating in future years. One of the plants, prickly pear, will produce leaves or pads that will be food for scale that in turn will feed a scale eating ladybug. Some non productive palms were given to a nursery which relocated them to other landscapes where they will be appreciated.

 

Waste products from rearing flies are composted and the resulting compost is spread around the foodscape, and offered to gardeners in the community. In the past we trucked the wet waste to orchards 12 miles away.

 

RVI is featured in Ventura County's website on green building, as an example of an innovative commercial operation.

Green Build VC

 

What You Can Do

 

Look around, do some web searches, ask friends, find areas where you can improve the quality of your life and use less fossil fuel.