Dairy Farmers of America receives GreenScore designation

The Springfield facility of Dairy Farmers of America, 800 W. Tampa St., today will be recognized for the plant's sustainability efforts with a gold-level Ozarks GreenScore designation.

The voluntary, nonregulatory Ozarks GreenScore program rates organizations on criteria such as waste, energy and policy management, water conservation, and air and water quality protection. Through the Ozarks GreenScore program, organizations receive bronze, silver, gold or green designations, based on evaluated criteria scores. Ozarks GreenScore is a partnership among nearly 20 organizations, including Drury University's Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions; Drury's Students in Free Enterprise; the Partnership for Sustainability; and Springfield/Greene County Choose Environmental Excellence, according to a city news release.

DFA's gold-level designation was awarded based on a number of activities, including:

• the introduction of an employee sustainability task force, a suggestion box and educational opportunities;
• green lighting, such as motion and light-level detectors and weekend lighting shutdown procedures;
• the replacement of 70 percent of roofing with insulation and white, reflective materials;
• a partnership with Drury and interns investigating water-saving techniques at the plant;
• compressed air system improvements, with upgrades to piping and controls, and the creation of a leak-check program;
• the purchase of high-efficiency motors to replace inefficient units; and
• waste recycling projects that allowed the plant to receive more than $89,000 in grants to install waste recycling equipment.

“We have a strong commitment to sustainability, and the staff and management at our Springfield plant have completed an impressive list of accomplishments, with more being planned for the future,” said Ed Tilley, chief operating officer of contract manufacturing for Kansas City-based DFA, in the release.

Ozarks GreenScore is scheduled to host a 2 p.m. recognition ceremony today at DFA's West Tampa Street plant. DFA is a dairy marketing cooperative owned by nearly 15,000 farmers, according to its Web site.