Ontario Construction News staff writer
Maple Leaf Foods has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification from the Canada Green Building Council at its Heritage plant in Hamilton.
A $2.6 million grant from the City of Hamilton funded design features with environmental and community benefits.
“We are really proud of what we have achieved at our Hamilton facility, and deeply appreciate the support we have received form the City of Hamilton,” said Randy Huffman, Maple Leaf Foods’ chief food safety and sustainability officer. “It has been a journey to get here, and we look forward to leveraging our learnings as we continue to pursue our vision of being the most sustainable protein company on earth.”
Maple Leaf Foods officially opened the Hamilton plant in 2014, bringing together operations from five other smaller sites into this more efficient and automated facility. The plant spans 500,000 sq ft. of floor space and employs more than 900 team members who make a wide variety of hot dogs and deli meats – more than 500 products in total.
In the past few years, the Heritage facility has implemented several initiatives that have led to gradual reductions in Maple Leaf Foods’ environmental impact including, a national LED lighting retrofit program, equipment efficiency and optimization upgrades, ammonia heat recovery and wasted heat recovery systems, composting and recycling programs, control measures and closed-loop systems for water use, and improvements to storage, handling and employee training to reduce food waste.
Key building features that went into creating this ‘green’ facility include measures to encourage alternative transportation such as a bicycle storage area and the use of low emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles, optimizing energy performance, enhanced refrigeration management, water use reduction and using low-emitting materials, and maximizing open space to encourage interaction with the environment, among other environmentally friendly features.
Receiving LEED certification is a significant multi-year accomplishment for the plant team who have played a significant role in achieving this milestone in becoming a certified facility. Heritage is the second LEED certified building at Maple Leaf Foods, following the Meadowvale head office located in Mississauga, Ontario.