Thinking Big and Acting Locally

When we see the headlines about environmental issues and climate change, we all want to make a difference. However, it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to such large and complex challenges. At GoMacro®, we believe that the best place to start is wherever you are. With enough help, acting at a local level has the power to create change on a global scale. That's why we invest our time and resources into several sustainability initiatives that not only benefit our company but also our local community and the environment around us. From renewable energy to recycling to sustainable sourcing, GoMacro is committed to thinking big and acting locally.

Renewable Energy

One of our most significant initiatives has been our investment in renewable energy. In 2018, we completed the installation of 844 solar panels on our Viola, WI production facility with the help of Ethos Green Power, a local, woman-owned solar company. In 2022, our solar panels generated 306,057-kilowatt hours (kWh), which is 46.7% of the total energy needed to power our facility. However, on particularly sunny days, the panels can produce even more power than we need, in which case the excess is sent back to the local electrical grid.

As hard as our solar panels work, though, cloudy days and dark nights are inevitable. To stay aligned with our green energy goals, we began supplementing our solar power by purchasing wind RECs (renewable energy credits) from regional wind farms. With this infrastructure in place, we are able to fully power GoMacro facilities with 100% renewable energy, which has earned us a spot in the EPA’s Green Power Partnership program. However, we also saw an opportunity to reach beyond the walls of our facility, and we now subsidize the additional costs to power every Viola residence, business, and even the local school district with renewable wind energy - all at no additional cost to residents!

"EPA applauds GoMacro for its commitment to using green power and for taking a leadership position on the environment,” said James Critchfield, Program Manager of EPA's Green Power Partnership. “GoMacro is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provides an excellent example for other businesses to invest in environmental progress."

Recycling Initiatives

In addition to our commitment to renewable energy, we are also dedicated to reducing waste in our community. A little creativity can go a long way in finding new purposes for what would otherwise end up in a landfill! We recycle 75 tons of materials such as plastic drums, gloves, hairnets, and cardboard every year, which helps to eliminate excess waste in local landfills. Even our empty nut butter and syrup pails find new lives when given to other local businesses. We’ve also donated over 20,000 pounds of food scraps to local farmers, which is a mutually beneficial way to support our local agricultural community.

Sustainable, Local Sourcing

Our partnership with local businesses doesn’t end there! We’re lucky that our Wisconsin production facility is located in the beautiful Driftless region, which is home to many incredible farms and producers. We always look to support local farmers in our sourcing decisions, which helps to minimize transportation needs and reduce our carbon footprint. For example, we source organic brown rice from Ancient Brands Milling, located roughly 1.5 hours from us in Dryersville, IA, and organic maple sugar from Maple Valley, a Midwest maple co-op located just down the road in Cashton, WI – 25 miles away from our production facility! Here at GoMacro, not only are the quality and taste of our ingredients important to us, but the environmental impact, as well.

From our employee Farm Share Program to our local volunteer cleanup days, we truly believe that small, intentional actions can add up and have a big impact. By investing in renewable energy, reducing waste, and sourcing locally, we hope to serve as an example for other companies of how sustainability initiatives can not only benefit a business but also their community and the planet at large. In the words of Anne Marie Bonneau, “The world doesn’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. It needs millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

To learn more about our sustainability initiatives, visit gomacro.com/sustainability.