Fueling stewardship
While a lot of people talk about pollution problems, Albert Postema has been busy doing something about protecting the air and the earth. While a lot of people talk about new ways to support farmers and agriculture, Postema has been doing something about that, too.
And, while a lot of people think it would be great to practice ecological stewardship if it weren't so costly to stick to it, Postema has spent years finding innovative ways to minimize his company's impact on the environment, often spending extra to implement his ideas, and still making a profit at it.
"The best way to teach is by example, and that is exactly what we intend to do," Postema said. "We started by looking, with an environmental frame of mind, at where we were contributing the most pollution to our environment. We realized early on that diesel was a big factor, so we switched from off-road diesel fuel (often used on construction sites) to lower-sulfur on-road diesel that was cleaner. Then, in 2000, we became aware of the availability of biodiesel and started looking for reliable sources. That's how it started."
Collectively, Postema and his nine employees own Earthwise Excavation, the business he formed in Maltby in 1987. The heavy-equipment company -- specializing in grading, septic systems, storm systems, water mains, street improvements and erosion control -- continues to live up to its original goal of being an "evolutionary corporation with sustainable business practices," Postema said.
A year ago, he started using biodiesel fuel in his construction equipment, all 18 vehicles, from bulldozers and backhoes to the trucks that haul them to work sites. And not just B10 or B20 biodiesel fuel -- the 10 and 20 percent biodiesel some businesses have begun mixing with regular diesel fuel -- but 100 percent soy-crop biodiesel fuel.
"This vegetable oil fuel burns well in diesel engines, and the results are amazing," Postema said. "I was able to hook up with Alternative FuelWerks in Ballard as a supplier. We were both heading in the same direction, trying to lessen the impact on the environment from diesel fuel. By comparison with other fuels, biodiesel is almost carbon-neutral."
In fact, 85 percent of even the small amount of carbon produced in the burning of each gallon of field-grown soy biodiesel fuel actually returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide that is absorbed by plants, he said.
"We started out with blended fuels, then over six months we increased the biodiesel portion to a full 100 percent, with no problems at first. Then we found that the lye used in making the biodiesel fuel would weaken natural rubber in hoses, primarily in older engines. Today, most hoses are made of synthetic rubber, which doesn't cause any problems," he said.
Running biodiesel fuel in his diesel-powered vehicles proved to have multiple benefits for Earthwise.
"It dramatically reduced air pollution, which is really good considering there are four major carcinogens in diesel exhaust," Postema said. "Also, we began to notice other health benefits. Running the equipment long days on a work site during the summer would often give our crews dull headaches by the end of the day. We always attributed that to working long hours on the equipment, but when we started burning biodiesel, all of the headaches from diesel fumes went away. Biodiesel also eliminated the acrid smoke that often accumulated on the site. Plus, the lubricating nature of biodiesel made our engines run smoother and quieter."
Even so, biodiesel "isn't a silver bullet" that miraculously solves environmental problems with no drawbacks, Postema said.
"Biodiesel is really impressive. Until you experience using it, you don't realize how good it is. We wouldn't ever go back to regular diesel. But you have to be committed to be out in front with this. For one thing, we pay about $1 to $1.20 per gallon more for biodiesel than for regular diesel. But you have to look at the other advantages. For instance, we've gained a lot of business just because people like the idea that we're innovative and using biodiesel to improve the environment."
But even expanding his business with that kind of publicity means committing time to the effort. For example, Postema has spent a good deal of time working with groups such as the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition. He also regularly grants interviews to news media and spends time educating them about environmental issues. The publicity has also attracted the kind of employees he needs, ones who share the company's commitment to working with an environmentally focused mindset, he said.
He had to work hard to find suppliers of biodiesel fuel, though more and more are coming into the market nationally and regionally. Currently, his soy-based biodiesel supplies come from the country's largest-producing state, Iowa, where multimillion-dollar processing plants have been built to produce fuel from local crops.
"In Washington state, wheat farmers like to plant mustard seeds as a cover crop, which happens also to be a great source for biodiesel fuels. Eventually, there could be enough demand for wheat farmers to have almost a million acres in production for biodiesel, and mustard seeds provide better soil enrichment than canola seeds, another source," he said. "As the use of biodiesel increases, engine manufacturers are beginning to include the fuel in their warranty coverage, too."
Earthwise, already out in front in using biodiesel fuel, is moving ahead in other areas, too. Postema said the company's dedication to recycling led to using only rechargeable batteries to reduce the number going to landfills.
"We also buy 'green power' from the Snohomish County PUD's Planet Power program. All of our electricity comes from the Stateline and Condon wind farms. It cost us an additional $3 per 150-kilowatt hours of energy, but we combined this program with a conservation plan that included more energy-efficient lighting, employee awareness programs and a review of our energy uses," he said.
What else is on Postema's mind? One new venture is buying a 120-gallon-per-day processor for making his own biodiesel fuel from restaurants' waste frying oils, waste they normally pay to have hauled away.
"We'd like to support this concept, but no one wanted to step up and get a processor. We found an opportunity to get one ourselves, so we did," he said.
As if all of this commitment to the environment wasn't enough, Earthwise Excavation also donates a minimum of 9 percent of its net profits to Northwest area conservation programs, including the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, the Cascadia Forest Alliance, the Friends of the Trees and the Surfrider Foundation.
"It may seem odd, the combination of excavation and sustainability, but this is the front line of development. It is rewarding to know how many places we have been able to save simply due to ... offering an alternative to the standard 'clear and haul' mindset," Postema said. "We have discovered ... that it feels good to do good, and that doing good work enhances our company's success."
This story courtesy of the Snohomish County Business Journal:
Fueling stewardship
