Innovation

Christine and Bob were looking for a bakery in the area that shared environmental, safe farming, and clean energy practices that align with their values. In an area that was predominately energized by fossil fuels, they were aware of the future harms that could endanger the area. By having support from a client base from a previous small business, Christine knew the idea would work. Village Bakery would serve the area, just like many cultures had a "village bakery." Christine and Bob source their ingredients from local farms who do not use pesticides, are organic, and have the same views on the care for the environment. "We did not have to sell anyone on the idea of a sustainable bakery as the community, and soon future customers, were receptive to the idea," Christine recalled of their early days opening the bakery.

Today Christine and Bob run a business that exclusively operates on sustainable farming and renewable energy. Bob said," we were the second restaurant in the area in 2002 that had a focus on sourcing our ingredients solely from sustainable, local suppliers." The demand was so large that a local family which had until then been producing dairy products for leisure became a full-fledged dairy farm to satisfy the demand from Village Bakery. Village Bakery has been at the forefront of spreading awareness and demand in organic farming. Because of this, several other suppliers of Village Bakery have adopted those same techniques. Village Bakery has also worked with the US Department of Agriculture to gain funding for a heating and cooling energy system that runs on geothermal energy from the Earth's core.

Inspiration

Christine and Bob lived in the area in the 1970s and 1980s and were aware of the large businesses that conducted fracking in the area. The waste from fracking was disposed in local injection wells and soon they had to do something about the waste entering their water sources. Bob and Christine knew by having a fossil fuel business the waste they would use would soon find its way into the water and environment. "Essentially we were using energy sources whose waste when disposed found its way into our drinking water," noted Bob. This was part of doing their fair share in running a local business that did not run on fossil fuels.

Sustainability has found its way into multiple realms of Village Bakery. Christine is so happy by what Village Bakery has done, but her vision is not complete yet. "By 2027, the goal is for everyone to be totally off fossil fuels," Christine hopes and she will keep spreading awareness. Several student organizations at Ohio University who care about sustainable food and activist groups have their normal meeting spot at Village Bakery. The inspiration became a reality when Village Bakery opened in 2002. Now about 20 restaurants in the area are organically sourced restaurants who use some form of renewable energy.

Overall impact

Village Bakery has embedded sustainability into their business. Their large fridge in their kitchen is Energy Star certified and has saved refrigerator energy costs 50-75% from their past refrigerator. LED lighting has replaced florescent lights for an 80-90% cost savings on their electric bills. Cost savings and margins from their goods are invested back into the business, whether it be paying their employees at a higher wage financially than other restaurants, or using it to invest in more renewable energy. The bakery invested heavily into a geothermal heating and cooling unit and has an electric charger station for electric cars to charge back up to full. They can visit farms to see sustainable practices in action and Village Bakery only buys from organic, environmental friendly farms. They were at the forefront of sourcing from local, organic farms and today there are more organic farms in the area due to high demand. Village Bakery meets the UN's Sustainable Development Goals of accessing reliable, sustainable energy and increasing the renewable energy share in the global market (goal 7). Village Bakery meets Goal 12 as well on reducing waste through recycling and reusable resources. They sell water bottles that are reusable, and sell socks whose cotton comes from organic farms. Village Bakery is contributing to a cleaner, safer environment in the community.

Business benefit

Village Bakery operates almost entirely on renewable energy sources. The move away from fossil fuel energy sources has made Village Bakery not only a clean bakery towards its surroundings, but also one that saves substantial costs. The bakery is largely powered by a geothermal unit that taps into the Earth’s natural heat from its core and pumps preheated water into the building that can be used for electricity, heating, and cooling. Therefore, the building is at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Co-owner Christine Hughes said, “It is more energy efficient to always be at 55 degrees and then heat up to 72 degrees in the winter, rather than go, from say, 30 degrees on the outside of the building in the winter and heat up to 72 degrees.”

In 2010, Village Bakery made the switch from fluorescent light bulbs to LED bulbs in their bakery. “We made the move in 2010 to transition to all LED bulbs and can save roughly 80-90% on electricity bills by making the change,” co-owner Bob O’Neil said. An example of that type of savings can be seen in their kitchen which had two fluorescent bulbs in an outlet that used 600 watts, and now two LED bulbs are used in the same outlet for a total of 30 watts.

Sustainable energy is used at every avenue of Village Bakery’s energy usage. They recently purchased an Energy Star model refrigerator. Perhaps the most impressive use of renewable energy is their insulated oven. They bake their products in a large, enclosed fire place that uses sustainable wood. The flame and wood is burned one time a day at 5AM and is insulated and can reach initial temperatures of 900 degrees. When the wood is done burning, the oven is heated from the fire and slowly cools throughout the day. When I was there, the oven was at 550 degrees in the afternoon, and slowly cools, which is remarkable if you think about a gas oven that takes substantial energy to heat up, to say 425 degrees for traditional baking.

Social and environmental benefit

Most towns and communities have a village bakery, which was part of the rationale for Christine and Bob to name the bakery, Village Bakery. Christine and Bob try to source all their ingredients form local, organic farms that practice safe farming with no pesticides and are conscious on environmental surroundings. In the 1990’s and early 2000s, organic farms in the area had little market demand other than family members and very small client bases. Customers and environmentally conscious community members were very receptive to an organically sourced bakery, and Village Bakery has partly helped more organic farms open up due to higher demand. The increase in demand for organic ingredients and suppliers has been so strong a family that produces dairy has now been able to grow into a large family farm in the area. All their energy use is in a renewable form so they are contributing to global energy efficiency, increasing the global share of renewable energy, and a safer environment. Not only are their ingredients from organic farms, but also their energy inputs such as their firewood for cooking is sourced from a sustainable supplier. Village Bakery purchases sustainable wood, which is wood from trees that are either dead or wood accumulated from scraps laying on the ground. This is a more efficient use of wood rather than cutting down living trees.

Interview

Christine Hughes and Bob O'Neil, Co-Owners