Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) is committed to reducing its CO2 emissions to zero by 2045 or sooner – a goal that has required the company to analyze its processes and machinery, among other things, in a quest to make its operations greener. But the plant floor isn’t the only place where FST is pursuing its goal. On 15 acres of land around the company’s Corteco distribution center in Milan, Ohio, a carbon-sequestering “green carpet” is hard at work, thanks to a long-standing partnership with a local business, The Chef’s Garden.
The relationship began in 2010 when the Corteco group saw an opportunity to use The Chef’s Garden, a sustainably focused farm, for team-building events. Employees work together to prepare a multi-course meal, cooking with only the healthiest locally grown ingredients. All the while, a world-class chef is pressing them to deal with various challenges. Afterwards, as the team enjoys the meal, they not only reflect on the hurdles they have overcome – they learn how the Jones family reinvented its business over the last 30 years. The Chef’s Garden now provides specialty products with optimum shelf life, quality, flavor and nutrition from their farm to the world’s finest chefs and restaurants. The Chef’s Market also offers vegetables, herbs, microgreens, edible flowers, and more to home cooks nationwide via its brick-and-mortar farm and online market.
When 30 acres of farmland became available in 2018, FST saw an opportunity to build on its partnership with The Chef’s Garden. They teamed up to farm the land regeneratively as a way improve the soil as well as the nutrients and flavor of the vegetables growing in it. The project was designed to support FST’s goal of achieving zero carbon emissions.
Harvesting a Sustainable Future
About half of the 30-acre parcel was planted with a cover crop that includes a variety of plants. They use sunlight, water and CO2 in the atmosphere to generate oxygen and sugar during photosynthesis. “This process helps to improve the nutrition and yield of crops, and also provides a direct benefit to the health of plants, animals and people in our local community,” said Kimberly Hilling, HR Manager, Corteco North America. “What’s even better is that these 15 acres are further supported by the employee-managed bee boxes that are used to help pollinate cover crops, while the other 15 acres are being traditionally farmed and include an employee-maintained garden.”
Recently, The Chef’s Garden partnered with a third party to measure the organic soil at the Corteco site and presented the results to employees along with a general education about regenerative farming. Throughout the presentation, Bob Jones from The Chef’s Garden reminded employees of the vital importance healthy soil plays in producing a healthy relationship among all living things.
“Healthy soil produces healthy plants. Healthy plants produce healthy animals, healthy animals produce healthy humans and healthy humans produce a healthy world,” Jones said during a presentation to Corteco employees.
Looking Ahead
Corteco employees in Milan expect to see results from the regenerative farming techniques in the coming months. An analysis of how much CO2 the cover crop is removing from the atmosphere will also be calculated during 2024. Long a leader on sustainability issues, Milan can now lead the independent aftermarket “in new ways that provide lasting health benefits,” Hilling said.
