What’s better than orchids? Carbon-neutral orchids

As climate change continues to present a threat to our planet, sustainability is on the minds of scores of people and businesses, including those in the horticulture industry. With the industry’s need for energy use and water, it’s especially important for greenhouse owners to figure out how to operate more sustainably. And many growers are doing just that, working to reduce water and energy usage, waste, pollution and carbon output in their greenhouses.

Westerlay Orchids in Carpinteria, California, has committed to making their production carbon-neutral — meaning that they will completely offset any and all carbon emissions they create by reducing the same amount of emissions elsewhere — by 2026.

From the beginning

Led by owner and president Toine Overgaag, the company grows and distributes four million phalaenopsis orchids per year.

“We were founded in 1978 by my parents when they emigrated from the Netherlands,” Overgaag says. “They operated Westerlay Roses as a very successful cut flower grower focused on high-end retail.”

Eventually, the company pivoted to selling cymbidium orchids, and later branched out to phalaenopsis orchids. Now, phalaenopsis orchids are all they grow.

Even before their plans to become carbon neutral were put in motion, sustainability was already an important issue at Westerlay. In 2021, the company reduced its carbon footprint by 43%, thanks to a combination of facility improvements, including solar panels and energy curtains. Each year since 2015, Westeraly has achieved an ‘A’ rating from horticultural rating agency MPS, thanks in part to their past carbon reduction efforts.

These past efforts include examples such as installing a 300,000 square foot irrigation water recycling catch system. Installed in 2018, the system cut water use by 38%. In addition to reducing water use, Westerlay’s also reduced natural gas consumption by 11%, thanks to the channeling of water resulting in a drier environment, which requires less heating to maintain humidity and temperature. This 11% cut equals the carbon reduction of taking 29 cars off the road.

A sense of urgency

Although the grower has been concerned with sustainability for a while, climate change is really accelerating Westerlay’s commitment to sustainability, as, according to Overgaag, “global climate change is the defining challenge of the 21st century. Nothing else comes close.” This existential threat to the planet underscores Westerlay’s goal of achieving carbon-neutral production, and other companies would be good to follow suit, both in and outside of the horticultural industry. As good as it is for one business to reach carbon neutrality, the world needs as many companies as possible to become more sustainable to stop climate change.

Triple threat

How does Westerlay plan to meet their 2026 carbon neutral goal? The grower will make three main efforts to reduce their carbon footprint: solar power, energy curtains and offsetting emissions.

Regarding solar power, Westerlay’s primary location will soon be 100% powered by solar energy. With a plan to install 561 voltaic cells that will generate 320 kWh per year of electricity, Westerlay will be a beacon of sustainable production.

Westerlay will also save 55,000 therms of natural gas with their energy curtains, as they are working with Greenhouse System USA to replace and insulate energy curtains in over 650,000 square feet of greenhouses.

And to offset carbon emissions, Westerlay is bringing in some outside help. “We are currently working with Carbon Footprint Ltd. to both measure our carbon footprint and to select appropriate offset programs,” Overgaag explains. “For the last two years, we have been funding a wind power project in India.”

Being constructed in Tamil Nadu, India, thanks to funding from Westerlay, the wind power facility will offset carbon emissions by 2,399 tCO₂, a measure of total carbon dioxide. “While not close to home, this project is generating clean electric power instead of coal power and doing so at a lower cost than comparable projects in more developed countries,” Overgaag shares. “In the short run, carbon offsets are going to be critical to get us to carbon neutral.”

Together, these three efforts will help Westerlay generate clean energy, reduce energy consumption and offset carbon-based energy with clean energy.

Challenges and advice

Regarding challenges that Westerlay has experienced in their sustainability journey, Overgaag says that part of the difficulty is in picking the right carbon offset projects to invest in. Additionally, Overgaag also explains that “the glacial pace of permitting new projects on a local level can slow down the implementation of solutions and new technology.”

An example of this glacial pace is how Westerlay is currently applying for permits to develop new greenhouses that would implement heat pump technology.

Overgaag explains that such heat pump technology in their greenhouses “will allow us to, using solar power, direct cool our greenhouses during the day and harvest ‘waste’ heat for use at night. If needed, we can also run the heat pumps at night when electrical rates are low for direct heating and harvest and store ‘waste’ cold for daytime use.”

Implementing this strategy could potentially cut natural gas demand by at least two-thirds, according to Overgaag. With that estimate, it’s easy to see how new projects such as this are going to be important for Westerlay’s future sustainability plans, and why the slow permit process presents an impediment.

Another project that Overgaag hopes to implement in the future is cultivating kelp forests in local waters to aid in carbon capture.

When asked what advice he would give to growers looking to make their operations more sustainable, Overgaag said to “get your carbon footprint measured [and then] create a path forward to reducing [it].”

Measuring your carbon footprint will let you realize how much waste you’re producing, so you’ll know how much you need to reduce, he advises.

“We are starting from a fairly low base by industry standards,” Overgaag explains. “Our temperate climate and low latitude ensure that we need relatively little heating, cooling and supplemental lighting compared to similar operations outside of California.”

By knowing exactly what they were starting with, Westerlay was able to come up with a plan to tackle their carbon footprint, setting an example for other greenhouses that want to do the same.

Editor’s note: To read more about Westerlay Orchids, see our profile on head grower and production manager Elias Torres here.