Notable Sustainable Companies
in Kentucky
Known as the Bluegrass State, Kentucky is legendary for thoroughbred racehorses, bourbon and its natural wonders. Mother Nature has truly blessed Kentucky with a dazzling array of outdoor attractions, many of which are world renowned for their unique features, such as the natural caves and underground passageways found at Mammoth Cave National Park. While searching for Notable Sustainable Companies in Kentucky, we discovered no shortage of businesses that lead strong initiatives; from agriculture to food co-ops, to manufacturing and building materials, Kentucky has many gems to discover!
There are many more sustainable companies in Kentucky that we may have missed, so if you believe you should be in the Notable Sustainable Companies in Kentucky, contact us and we will evaluate your sustainable initiative. We did not receive any funding or incentives to feature these companies. Our goal is to create an awareness of sustainable development and encourage others to take part. Companies listed here are also welcome to add our eco-badge to their website at the bottom of this article.
Notable Sustainable Companies in Kentucky
The Broomwagon Cafe
Source: Rubicon
Located in Lexington, Kentucky, The Broomwagon Café is many things… it’s a bike shop for one, but it’s also a coffee shop, beer garden, and café. A Notable Sustainable Company is about the actions businesses make to be better with action steps to reduce their environmental footprint. Broomwagon does this by:
- Instilling sustainability management and a Green Team that hold workshops for composting
- Offer sustainability tips in a monthly newsletter
- Installing energy efficient utilities—from their LED bulbs to their employees that dress for thermal comfort
- Recycle, conserve water, take part in urban forestry and landscapes, and biking initiatives.
Also, The Broomwagon Café has installed LED lights and water-efficient toilets. The business uses recycled wood for its display cases, kitchen and store shelving, and other interior décor. It takes part in Seedleaf’s composting program (listed below) and has on-site rain barrel for watering its organic garden.
Bluegrass Greensource
Photo credit: Bluegrass Greensource Instagram “Students at Garrett Morgan Elementary can tell you all you’d ever want to know about waste reduction after our visit this morning!”
Bluegrass Greensource is the source for all things green in central Kentucky, encouraging small steps toward a sustainable future for their communities.
Formerly known as Bluegrass PRIDE, Bluegrass Greensource is a non-profit organization that provides education and resources on how people affect our environment. Since 2001, they have provided outreach to schools, community groups, businesses, local governments, and citizens throughout Central Kentucky.
From hosting business lunches, waste audits, workshops, building gardens, providing use cases and more, Bluegrass Greensource is equipped to serve central Kentucky and improve composting, recycling and reducing practices.
While reading about this company, we especially liked their Green Living Labs; which offers a workshop every Saturday where staff present short, engaging presentations to help you build new skills and to live more sustainably. They cover a variety of topics, from gardening to green cleaners at home.
Don’t be shy to get involved, they have room for volunteers and sustainability enthusiast to take part in their events!
SeedLeaf
Photo credit: Seedleaf Instagram
In 2007, a group of friends cultivated a successful community garden on the south side of Lexington. They agreed that with some structure and planning, they could replicate this in other neighbourhoods. So they filed papers and made some plans and came to be incorporated as a charitable nonprofit. They grew 3 gardens in 2008, 10 gardens in 2009, and have flourished since that time.
Seedleaf does its best work when neighbours are sharing work and sharing food and coming together over common tasks and needs. Neighbours and volunteers joining in gardens come to reconnect with their food and the soil.
Seedleaf cultivates 13 free U-pick community gardens throughout Fayette County’s food deserts, areas deemed by the USDA to have problematic access to fresh local food. The company also picks up compost at 35 area restaurants and kitchens through their Compost Partners Program, a partnership with the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government’s Division of Waste Management. They compost much of this food waste in or near their community gardens.
Sunstrand
Sunstrand envisions a world where the products we use every day derive from high-quality, renewable and sustainable materials.
To achieve this, they have selected their feedstocks based on their rapid growth cycles, mechanical properties, and performance-enhancing potential. Grown with a high standard of environmental sustainability, Sunstrand use agronomic practices that increase crop yield, reduce water needs, and remove the necessity of herbicides and pesticides.
Environmental Impacts of Sunstrand’s Feedstocks
- Reduce atmospheric CO2: Through carbon sequestration that occurs naturally during their feedstocks growth cycle, it removes significant amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere.
- Stop deforestation: Their rapidly renewable crops are ready for harvest in as little as 90 days making it a significantly more sustainable source of natural fibers for composites compared to timber that will take at least 5 years to yield usable fibers.
- Reduce the use of herbicides & pesticides: Feedstock’s like Hemp can be grown without the use of pesticides and herbicides thanks to their natural resistance to pests and ability to overpower weeds and other nuisance plants.
- Eliminate unsustainable plastics: With modern compounding techniques and composite integration methods, Sunstrand sustainable material can significantly reduce the amount of plastic and non-biodegradable material in a wide variety of applications.
Recycle-A-Textbook
Photo credit: https://www.recycleatextbook.com/about
Recycle-A-Textbook is a for-profit charity and Kentucky’s first B Corp company. This designs a unique company that meets rigorous social and environmental standards by performing well, being accountable and transparent about their business practices.
Their goal is to change how students are getting textbooks and create a sustainable market in which they can accomplish this. This movement is changing the way universities and colleges operate.
Their program works like this: they partner with a campus organization, whether it be a campus ministry, fraternity/sorority, economics or environmental club and work with them to place and service their donation bins.
Once they can distribute the books back into the market, through their wholesale and retail partnerships, they will funnel money back to the organization for them to accomplish whatever their philanthropic goal or initiative may be.
Good Foods Co-op
Photo credit: Good Foods Co-op Instagram
Good Foods Co-op is at the forefront of a vibrant cooperative economy and is engaged in community partnerships to nourish:
- A fair and sustainable local food system;
- education that cultivates food citizenship;
- and access to healthy food for all.
Good Foods Co-op was founded in 1972 in Lexington and is central to Kentucky’s only locally owned and operated cooperative grocery—something their 8,000+ owners are proud of. They focus on local, natural, organic, non-GMO products and wholesome foods while supporting over 250 Kentucky farmers and producers.
RossTarrant Architects
RossTarrant Architects was the first design firm in Kentucky to earn LEED Gold (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and an ENERGY STAR for their own office.
As a firm focused on designing sustainable educational environments, environmental responsibility is an integral part of their office culture. Their internal activities have even led the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to recognize the firm multiple times for leadership in environmental stewardship, including a Green Check Silver Award.
Nearly three-fourths of their staff are LEED Accredited Professionals. In addition, they offer the expertise of WELL AP’s, a Green Classroom Professional, Green Globes Professional, and a Certified Passive House Consultant.
They have a dedicated Sustainability Coordinator who reviews every project to identify opportunities to improve building performance, increase material durability, reduce maintenance requirements and incorporate sustainable materials all while keeping in mind the economic viability of these decisions for their client’s bottom line and continued operating costs.
Next Up: Notable Sustainable Initiatives in Tennessee
A Cup of Common Wealth
Photo credit: A Cup of Common Wealth – Facebook
A Cup of Common Wealth commits to providing an environment to further the spirit and well-being of their artistically and culturally diverse community.
Their dedication to sustainability is another way they hope to live out their mission statement; they serve their local community and reduce their footprint on the environment by collaborating with non profits and individuals to help create a culture of activism for the planet.
For example:
- They give a cup discount for people who bring in their own mugs/thermos;
- $1.33 for drip coffee if you bring in your own thermos;
- There are signs up for proper recycling and disposal of landfill material;
- Testing out some stainless steel straws thanks to a customer’s suggestion;
- Took out 409 ingredients in cleaning products by replacing them with an all natural cleanser made of clove, cinnamon, lemon, and other nontoxic ingredients;
- Send our coffee grounds compost to Seedleaf (listed above)
- Purchase from chocolate companies like French Broad, which produces chocolate sustainably.
- Feature coffee from farms that are growing coffee beans with earth conscious practices
Ashbourne Farms
Photo credit: Ashbourne Farms Instagram
Ashbourne Farms is the agricultural legacy of W.L. Lyons Brown and Sally [Shallenberger] Brown. From meager beginnings, the Browns built the farm from the ground up, suffusing the property with a deep love of agriculture and nature. This legacy is the foundation upon which the modern day iteration of Ashbourne Farms flourishes.
Years of thoughtful care went into restoring the property to the picturesque splendor of its heyday; the entire farm, now listed on the national historic register. Ashbourne Farms nurtures its vision of preservation and natural conservation with intention. In doing so, its family members opened Ashbourne Farms to the public so that others could relish its beauty for generations to come.
Since its inception, Ashbourne Farms has been a working farm. For decades, it was an agricultural hub that flourished in the center of the La Grange community. From its days as a thriving cattle operation, restaurant and Inn, to its current efforts to provide the surrounding area with locally grown produce and pasture-raised meats; the goal is always to maintain and expand on the agrarian foundation started by W.L. Lyons Brown and his wife, Sally.
Farming practices at Ashbourne reflect the same care given to the land and its history. The aim is to feed others well, from the ground up. That means they nurture the soil, produce grown on the farm is native to the region, and timeless natural practices are used. The animals are pasture-raised and never supplemented with antibiotics or added hormones. Eggs are picked fresh each morning from happy chickens. In addition, farm life is balanced with wildlife conservation efforts to improve soil and water quality and restore habitats for native species like endangered migratory birds.
Today, the exclusive food program at Ashbourne Farms rests on these traditions. The sincere passion for first-class dining is derived directly from the bounty of the farm. All culinary endeavors here show the fruits of this agricultural commitment, from local CSA shares to elegant, plated dinners for luxury events.
The Community Farm Alliance
The Community Farm Alliance is composed of a diverse range of Kentuckians. They are united by their belief in the right to agency in the public policies that shape their economy—their culture—and their abiding conviction in the farm as a foundation for growth. They function through community organizing, leadership development, and strategic alliances across organizations.
The Community Farm Alliance has pledged to move beyond words and commit to an intentional, proactive strategy that addresses issues of equity and diversity within their organizational culture and the system and institutions they seek to influence. The journey is moving CFA forward on the Pathway to Change and towards their long-term priority of ensuring that:
“Kentucky has an organized and diverse family farm, food, and fiber coalition that influences and creates political, social, and economic change.”
With this understanding, CFA commits to the following programs and more:
- Farmers Market Support Program: Kentucky Farmers’ Markets are an important component of community development. They provide an opportunity for all members of the community to interact socially and economically; are a retail market for small-scale and beginning farmers and act as a food hub for aggregating and distributing to supply restaurants, farm to school programs, institutions, wholesalers and regional distributors.
- Healthy Communities Initiative: Community Farm Alliance’s mission includes: “To ensure an essential, prosperous place for family-scale agriculture in our economies and communities”; and “We envision a food and fiber system that provides nutritious food for Kentuckians in a manner that is socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable. We envision a system vital to the state’s economy.”
- Woven Roots: The Fiber Story Project: The Woven Roots project grew out of the Highlander Center for Research and Education’s Appalachian Transition Fellowship. In a collaboration between Highlander, Community Farm Alliance, and Fibershed, App Fellow, Sam Hamlin began working on a project mapping out the natural fiber supply chain in central and eastern Kentucky.
- Eastern Kentucky Food Systems Collaborative: The Eastern Kentucky Food System Collaborative (EKFSC) is a network of farmers, gardeners, producers, consumers, health professionals, educators, extension agents and more who commit to building, strengthening and connecting the Eastern Kentucky food system.
Jackson Warewashing Systems
This next company on our list of Notable Sustainable Companies in Kentucky will be the first time we highlight a dishwashing manufacturer. Here’s why we did:
Jackson WWS, Inc. is a full-line supplier and a leading producer of high-quality commercial dish machines—all made in the USA. They stand by our “Clean the First Time” commitment with dish machines hat deliver optimal cleaning performance while reducing labor, chemical, and utility costs. With more standard features and a lower acquisition and operating cost, Jackson sets the standard for ware washing.
Jackson innovates to lower the cost of ownership through water, chemical, and energy savings while delivering “Clean the First Time®” performance. The amount of water consumed during the operation of the dish machine determines the sewage, chemical, and electrical costs of the machine. Jackson strives to reduce the overall consumption of water in each dish machine they offer.
In fact, the ENERGY STAR® qualified DynaTemp and RackStar as machines that have the lowest water consumption in their respective product categories. Their high temperature door-type dish machine, the DynaTemp, uses only 0.69 gallons of water per rack and the rack conveyor, RackStar, uses just 0.35 gallons per rack.
The Berkshire Food Co-op
The Berkshire Food Co-op is driven by the belief that working together to strengthen the community benefits everyone. Owned and operated by its members, the co-op provides high-quality local food.
It was founded in 1981 by local families who wanted to provide their community a place to shop, gather, eat & learn by offering good food and sustainable products at reasonable prices through cooperative ownership and responsible business practices.
Berkshire Food Co-op is the center of a flourishing community which:
- Cultivates generosity, cooperation, and care for their environment
- Invigorates the local economy through equitable relationships and support of the cooperative movement
- Engages their greater community through education and outreach
- Is the trusted source of healthful food for all
AppHarvest
AppHarvest is building some of America’s largest greenhouses, combining conventional agriculture techniques with today’s technology to grow non-GMO, chemical-free produce. Their first greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky, will span 60 acres and operate entirely on rainwater using a 10-acre retention pond. By choosing to farm this way, they are able to reduce water usage by 90%.
Their central location in Appalachia is within a day’s drive of 70% of the U.S. population, allowing them to reduce the amount of fuel consumed in transportation by 75%.
U.S. Hemp Roundtable
Photo credit: U.S. HEMP ROUNDTABLE Instagram
Hemp is a durable crop that grows in a variety of climates and soil types. It can also be used in many different applications, from ice cream to plastics. It represents a significant economic opportunity for this country. But it is illegal to grow hemp here.
Launched in early 2017, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable is a coalition of over dozens of hemp companies—representing every link of the product chain, from seed to sale—and all the industry’s major national grassroots organizations.
Klausing Group
Today, Klausing Group is a leader in landscape industry certification and employee training in central Kentucky and known for its commitment to creating and maintaining landscapes that do more.
Klausing Group is a local commercial landscaping company. Klausing has outfitted its headquarters with a rain garden, a green living roof, and a water catchment system, which supplies the company with water for landscaping projects.
We hope you enjoyed L’Autre Couleur’s Notable Sustainable Companies in Kentucky!
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This was the 19th post in the Notable Sustainable Companies series; one for every State in the United States. You can expect a Notable Sustainable Companies article for every State in the United States! To stay updated on the up and coming initiatives, subscribe to our monthly newsletter and follow us on Facebook. Also please comment if we have left out any important sustainable companies in Kentucky that you believe should be part of our list of top sustainable companies, or if you have any thoughts/comments on the article.
Check out some of the sustainable companies happening in your neighbouring country.
- Top Sustainable Companies in Washington, DC
- Notable Sustainable Companies in Georgia
- Notable Sustainable Companies in Florida
- Notable Sustainable Companies in Alabama
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