GROWMARK, Inc. has announced its endure sustainability initiative is expanding beyond investing in and promoting effective environment measures, to now also encompass bolstering meaningful social interactions and sound governance.
Over the last year, GROWMARK has contributed almost $1 million to community initiatives through its charitable organization, The GROWMARK Foundation. These funds have supported more than $200,000 in scholarships, $400,000 in matching funding to ag initiatives across North America, and more than $70,000 to Ag in the Classroom programs. The GROWMARK Foundation also supported relief efforts in Ukraine by organizing in-kind grain donations through its facilities and financial donations by its employees.
"As an innovative partner with our farmer-customers, the GROWMARK system is proud to continue adoption of new, sustainable solutions that are vetted and impactful, along with promoting employee initiatives that give back to the communities in which our system serves," the cooperative said in a statement.
Employees encouraged to contribute to and impact their communities
Aligning with one of the cooperative principles of education, training, and information, leadership emphasizes the importance of ongoing training for GROWMARK’s board of directors as well as employees across the GROWMARK system.
Team members from throughout the system are encouraged to take advantage of education and training to help them effectively contribute to their cooperatives’ development and positively impact their community.
GROWMARK’s innovation efforts have proven successful in lowering its carbon footprint by moving a vast majority of its data to cloud servers, reducing the need for legacy technology equipment while also investing in new equipment that uses less power.
In addition, SEEDWAY, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GROWMARK, has added a Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) division as part of a growing commercial gardening strategy to optimize horticulture practices and reduce environmental impacts.
”Farmers have been perfecting sustainable methods for centuries to ensure not only a safe food supply, but that fertile land remains productive for generations to come,” said GROWMARK CEO Mark Orr. “As an innovative partner with our farmer-customers, the GROWMARK System is proud to continue adoption of new, sustainable solutions that are vetted and impactful, along with promoting employee initiatives that give back to the communities in which our system serves.”
You can read the full 2023 GROWMARK endure System Sustainability Initiative by clicking here.
