Martinelli's: A Responsible Agribusiness

Edwin Galindo, MBA ’21 Candidate | Accounting Specialist, Martinelli's

Martinelli's is a premium apple juice and cider producer located in Watsonville, near Monterey, CA. It has been family-owned and operated since 1868.¹ Martinelli's demonstrates a strong commitment to the principles of responsible business. According to the Quintuple Bottom Line theory, a responsible business should be working simultaneously on the following five bottom lines: profit, people, planet, equity, and ethics.

In terms of concerns for people and equity, Martinelli's purchases locally grown apples, and if local apples are not available, the company buys domestically grown apples. The company supports local dairy farms with its apple byproducts, and it supports the community by offering opportunities to donate juice to non-profit agencies benefiting children in the Monterey Bay Area.

Regarding its planet impact, Martinelli's is a certified member of the California green business network in the Monterey Bay Area.² The company works on minimizing the environmental impact of its operations and supply chain. According to its Environmental Policy Statement, the company strives to incorporate sustainability into its core business operations through internal and external efforts. Martinelli's has committed to pursuing the following policies and practices:

• Reduce, reuse, and recycle
• Purchase environmentally friendly products
• Conserve energy, water, and natural resources
• Purchase locally and/or domestically grown apples to minimize the carbon footprint of transportation
• Upgrade its lighting system with more efficient LED light bulbs

As a certified green business, Martinelli's has helped local growers convert from large ground sprinklers to more efficient drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation. The company's practices have increased water efficiency by 25%. In the spring of 2020, Martinelli's planted an additional 36 acres of orchards in a high-density format, which allows for more efficient farm practice, including harvesting, pruning, and higher yields per acre. Planting the new orchards encourages local agricultural endeavors as the company continues to bottle its award-winning juice in the same location where it has operated for over 150 years.

Martinelli's protects its employees' health and the environment by reducing the use of strong chemical materials. The janitorial cleaning products that the company uses are all "Green Seal." The staff also avoids purchasing VOC paints, markers, and air fresheners and disposes of recycling chemical products in an environmentally safe manner. These practices keep their employees safe while protecting the environment.

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