green

We've Gone Electric!

Testa Produce is now the proud owner of two new, pure electric delivery trucks. These new additions to our fleet have a much smaller delivery radius and are used primarily for our downtown Chicago runs. These trucks have cold plate technology and run 100% on electricity. We are extremely excited about these new additions. Stay tuned for what we've got up our sleeve next!

Exciting News!

Testa Produce is now officially LEED Platinum Certified. This certification also marks Testa as the First Platinum Refrigerated Food Distribution Facility in the United States.

This is an incredible accomplishment and we are so proud. This would not have been possible without the hard work of the numerous people involved. Thank you for everything and we look forward to sharing this accomplishment with all of you!

Our new facility is located in the Back of the Yards Neighborhood in the Chicago Industrial Stockyards Corridor.

The land was previously an old Brownfield site, and has been restored into an entirely green, sustainable facility.

Our facility is 91,300 square feet with a total site footprint of 571,928 square feet!

There is absolutely NO blacktop on the premises, instead we used 5 acres of white concrete throughout the site.

All cleaning and pest control in the building is done using certified green products. All paints and adhesives used contained low VOC and only low emitting finishing products were used throughout the building to maintain good air quality.

The energy efficient mechanical design of the building results in a 30% reduction in energy consumption. Renewable energy accounts for another 50% energy reduction, which saves us an estimated $185,000 each year!

Decreased energy consumption, along with wind and solar energy savings results in a 57% reduction in energy use which is appx. 1,925,844 kWhrs/ year. So what does that mean? It means we are saving enough energy in one year to fulfill the equivalent demand of appx 175 typical US homes!

Testa Produce is home to the first freestanding wind turbine in the City of Chicago.

The wind turbine that stands at the entrance of our building could be considered one of our most distinctive features, you can't miss it!

Our turbine stands 238 feet from the ground to the top of the upright-most blade. Each blade is 70 feet long and in order for it to remain securely intact, the foundation plummets 48 feet below the ground's surface.

The turbine is so large, that it can be seen for miles: The turbine itself can be seen from the nearest highway (I90-I94). The shadow of the blades during the peak of March and September can stretch almost a mile radius!

The turbine supplies 750 Kilowatts of power and we estimate that the turbine will generate roughly 30% of the building's power needs.

In a given year, it will generate roughly 880,000 kilowatt/ hours of energy. What does that mean?  It means that will be producing the equivalent of about 80 homes worth of energy each year!

Our Vegetated Green Roof truly is one of a kind!

The first of its kind, our 45,650 square foot roof barrels so it is visible from the street. It slopes at the front to create a unique green identity for the building.

We have over one acre of vegetative plant material on our roof! It is designed to require minimal irrigation which is an integral part of our water efficiency system. 

The roof collects rainwater and prevents run-off. Once the water soaks into the roof, it is filtered into our internal water cistern. From there the water is stored until it is needed. All of the water collected from the roof is reused for non-potable purposes throughout the building such as flushing toilets.

There are several benefits of this roof:

- Increases water conservation by preventing rainwater run-off

- Releases Oxygen resulting in cleaner air

- Insulates our building and decreases heat waste emissions

- Lengthens the replacement time of the roof

If you have any other questions about the roof or any of our 'Going Green' efforts, please don't hesitate to contact us! ALSO Check out the blog on Roofmeadow to learn more about our roof and other projects! 

An essential component of an eco-friendly building is finding a way to be efficient with water usage, and Testa Produce is no exception.

At the entrance to our property, there is a 764,085 gallon water retention pond. This pond collects rainwater and stores it until the water is needed. The pond is connected to the building so that water can be utilized when necessary.

A 140,132 gallon bio swales system borders the building. The bio swales encourage rainwater infiltration into existing soils and filter water into the retention pond, reducing the demand on public sewers.

Permeable pavers lining the walkways and parking lot are designed to drain water runoff into the bio swales system.

Another key segment of our water efficiency system is our 5,000 gallon internally filtered rainwater harvesting cistern. The water runoff from the green roof is filtered into the cistern and from there, all of the water that is stored in the cistern, is filtered and used for non-potable purposes throughout the building.

The harvested rainwater will provide all the water required to flush toilets during the typical year.

Even our landscaping plays a role in our water management. The landscaping surrounding the building features native plant species that are functionally designed to require minimal irrigation.

The combined water saving technologies that have been incorporated into the facility will lead to a reduction of over 40% of the building's water demand!

We have a total of 180 solar panels on site. There are two separate types of panels-  Photovoltaic Panels and Solar Hot Water Panels.

The first type is our Photovoltaic Solar Panels. PV solar panels use solar power to generate energy for the building. We have a total of 159 PV panels on site. There are 72 panels located above the doors of the rear docks, in addition to the 108 pole-mounted panels in the parking lot.

The pole- mounted solar panels generate energy for the building as well as contain the capabilities for electric vehicle plug-ins.

The other form of solar power we utilize at Testa is a Solar Hot Water System. We have 21 panels located on our roof that use solar energy to produce 100% of the building's non-potable hot water. This eliminates the need to consume natural gas to heat the water. 

Our solar hot water system is the first U.S. Commercial Evacuated Tube Collector System to use pure water as the working fluid.

Testa Produce is the first company to illuminate our entire office area using 100% LED lighting. We also have LED lights in the freezer and on all outdoor lighting fixtures.

Our warehouse coolers and dock areas contain energy efficient T5 lighting.

The entire facility is equipped with motion senor lighting.

Green screens at the front of the building are used for heat and shade.

Both solar tracking and standard skylights add an appropriate amount of natural lighting throughout offices and in the stairwell.

The entire warehouse is temperature controlled, with various temperature zones ranging from below 0 to 60 degrees.

The refrigeration system is an eco-friendly Ammonia Glycol system and the facility runs on a 4,000 amp electrical system.

All of our 40 dock doors contain manual doors and contain personal, adjustable LED lights for more efficiency while loading trucks. 

All delivery trucks in our 60+ fleet are run on Bio Diesel fuel. We have 2 Bio Diesel Fuel tanks located behind the facility for our trucks to refuel onsite.

Walkie Rider Material Moving Machines are powered by Oorja Methanol Fuel Cells in lieu of battery charging systems.

To encourage our employees to personally go green, Testa offers some sustainable opportunities for its staff. All company cars are Hybrid vehicles and there is designated preferred parking close to the building reserved for low-emitting, fuel-efficient vehicle owners.

At Testa, we recycle all of our paper, plastic, and cardboard to receive a 95% recycling capacity.

31% of the entire facility (excluding all electrical and mechanical features) is made of recycled materials.

Dyson hand dryers are in all of the bathrooms to eliminate paper towel use and waste.

Even during construction, Testa utilized recycled materials. 85% of the building material was recycled construction waste diverted from landfills. Thousands of granite pavers were found on site and reused to line several walkways for the current facility. Also, all concrete that was found on site was reground and used as a base for the concrete in the parking lot.

All furniture from our previous building was brought over and reused in the current facility. Any new furniture that was purchased contains a large amount of recycled-material content.

To reduce the amount of plastic waste that accumulates, Testa made the switch to reusable, vinyl mesh Pallet Wrapz. The mesh material wraps around the pallet and is held in place by a few secure strips of velcro. To learn more about the product, visit the Pallet Wrapz website.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

LEED certification is awarded by US Green Building Council and have various certification levels. We are attempting Platinum Certification, which is the highest rating available.

Our goal is to attain the position of the first LEED® Platinum Refrigerated Foodservice Distribution Facility in the United States.

Why choose to go LEED Platinum? - LEED building requirements lower operating costs and increase asset value, reduce waste sent to landfills, conserve energy and water, and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

The total points possible to gain LEED Platinum Certification is 69 points, we are attempting 59 of those points. Upon submitting our application, if we are awarded all of those points, we will qualify to gain that highest status.

To learn more about the LEED process, you can visit their website!

If you are interested in getting a tour of the facility, please email us at info@testaproduce.com and let us know! We'll set up something for you!