Climate change is an undeniable fact. We feel it as we’re hit with extreme storm systems, a warming planet, melting icebergs, and rising tides. The fact is, humans have caused this global change and now we must all do our part to shift gears and find a solution. One way that Mountain Rose Herbs takes responsibility for the carbon dioxide emissions released in production of our organic herbs, spices and tea blends, and botanical products is through our partnership with Carbonfund.org, who’s motto is “reduce what you can, offset what you can’t.”

In 2012, our estimated carbon emissions amounted to 254 metric tons.

What we did to REDUCE:

- All light fixtures upgraded to low-impact fluorescents

- Cargo and delivery vehicles run on used vegetable oil based bio-diesel

- E-Star rated appliances, electronics and heating and cooling units

- Enrolled in EWEB Greenpower Program to support wind and solar energy sources

How we OFFSET with Carbonfund.org:

- Renewable Energy and Methane Projects

- Energy Efficiency Research and Carbon Credits

- Reforestation and Forest Preservation Projects

To find out more about Mountain Rose Herbs’ commitment to reducing carbon emissions or to learn how you can reduce your impact, visit: Carbonfund.org

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As spring showers rain down upon us, they bring new growth and give us the opportunity to reflect. This seasonal change serves as an excellent reminder of our need for water and the value of clean water for fish and wildlife, agriculture, recreation, and for clean drinking water.

One of Mountain Rose Herbs’ long-standing non-profit partners, McKenzie River Trust, works resolutely to protect watersheds in western Oregon. By protecting special lands, restoring natural ecosystems, and connecting people to the places they care about, the McKenzie River Trust has guarded this precious and wondrous resource.

Matching Gift Challenge!

In support of their efforts, we are launching our 3^rd annual Matching Gift Challenge during the month of April. If you donate to the McKenzie River Trust by April 30^th Mountain Rose Herbs will double your impact by matching your gift dollar for dollar up to $5,000!  Plus, if you give $100 or more, you will receive a McKenzie River Trust water bottle to sport around town or while adventuring in your favorite wild places.

To give your tax deductible donation now, please click here or mail a check to the McKenzie River Trust at the address below:

McKenzie River Trust

1245 Pearl Street

Eugene, OR 97401

Join Mountain Rose Herbs to protect the lands that cradle our rivers!

For more information about the McKenzie River Trust or the matching gift campaign, please go to www.mckenzieriver.org or contact Brandi Ferguson, Development Manager at brandi@mckenzieriver.org or 541-345-2799.

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Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we continuously try to improve both our workplace environment and the natural world. This month, we were able to do both by planting native trees and shrubs!

Our landscaper, Holde Fink with Native and Urban Gardens, works to enhance our bioswale and beautify the backdrop at our facility by planting native trees. He is an Oregon Tilth Accredited Organic Land Care professional who employs no-spray methods and sustainable practices. In the warmer months, employees and furry friends alike enjoy the grassy knoll around the bioswale where they picnic and play.

We also participated in two back-to-back tree plantings through the Mountain Rose River Project, an employee-led volunteer group focusing on riparian restoration, stream health, and aquatic habitat protection.

March 8, 2013 – As a member of GreenLane, we linked up with McKenzie River Trust and a jubilant group of volunteers for a planting on Green Island outside of Eugene, OR. By the end of the day, we had established over 250 native plants!

March 9, 2013 – We sponsored a Friends of Trees planting along Amazon Creek close to the wetlands near our facilities. A total of 41 volunteers planted 104 trees, including Oregon White Oaks, Valley Ponderosas, and White Alders!

Learn more about Mountain Rose Herbs’ sustainability initiatives!

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Here’s Jim Fleck, Zero Waste Operations Coordinator, and Troy Gile, Master Recycler and Waste and Recycling Coordinator at Mountain Rose Herbs, loading up another dozen barrels.

Mountain Rose Herbs is partnering with the University of Oregon Campus Zero Waste Program to reduce landfill waste by re-purposing 55 gallon barrels. The university will cut the tops off of these barrels that transport our bulk liquids, such as glycerine, aloe gel and hydrosols, and use them as recycling collection bins. In the past, these have also been made into rain barrels or donated to a local non-profit, M.E.C.C.A., Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts.

Our creative and passionate team of recycling experts have come up with new ways to reuse or recycle everything from old pens to paper towel rolls, plastic banding to twist ties. This is one more exciting development in our continuing efforts to eliminate waste.

Learn more about our Zero Waste Program!

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Each year, we work with amazing environmental non-profits around the country to support crucial projects like restoring riparian ecosystems, protecting wolf populations, and replanting native trees, shrubs, and herbs. It is my great pleasure to announce three new non-profit organizations that Mountain Rose Herbs will support in 2013!

Friends of Trees – Since 1989, they’ve planted more than 450,000 trees in the Portland-Vancouver and the Eugene-Springfield metro areas. As a sponsor of their Green Space Initiative, this partnership is more than just a monetary donation. Mountain Rose Herbs’ employees have the opportunity to get their hands dirty to increase urban canopy cover and inspire residents to care for existing trees, as part of the Mountain Rose River Project.

Long Tom Watershed Council – This organization serves to improve water quality and watershed condition in the Long Tom River basin through education, coordination, consultation, and cooperation. One of their many programs, the Amazon Creek Initiative, works to educate businesses located on Eugene’s urban stream about pesticide alternatives and wildlife restoration.

Predator Defense – As a nonprofit, member-supported organization, they’ve been working since 1990 to protect vital native predators and help people learn to coexist with wildlife. Through fieldwork, information-sharing, advocacy, and legislative reform, they speak out for wolves, mountain lions, coyotes, bears, and other predators that have undeservedly gotten a bad rap.

Learn about the many other wonderful organizations we support here!

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We are proud to share some exciting news!

The Oregon Sustainability Board selected Mountain Rose Herbs as the 2012 Grand Champion for the Governor’s Sustainability Award. The award was presented in Portland at the Northwest Environmental Conference and Tradeshow earlier this month by Oregon Secretary of State, Kate Brown. It is a tremendous honor and we are grateful to everyone who made this possible.

Upon accepting the award, we were asked to impart a piece of advice to other organizations that are pursuing sustainability initiatives. Since 1987, Mountain Rose Herbs has been known for its uncompromising commitment to organic agriculture, sustainable business practices and community involvement. But how sustainability is defined and viewed within the company continues to change and evolve as it must. Whether the organization follows a top-down approach implemented by the owners or a grassroots effort initiated by employees, it’s important to agree on this definition and outline realistic goals throughout the organization.

For instance, at Mountain Rose Herbs we know it’s necessary to have specific policies and programs in place to maintain our standing as a Zero Waste Company.  But without employee education and cooperation, our extensive recycling and composting programs wouldn’t be possible. Encouraging participation through incentives is another effective strategy. We do this by reimbursing employees through our Carpool, Bus, and Bike to Work Program.

Congratulations to the other award recipients and many thanks to Oregon’s Sustainability Board, Business Oregon, and the entire Mountain Rose Herbs family for staying at the forefront of the sustainability movement and inspiring other organizations to do the same.

Here’s a list of our sustainability programs:

- Organic, Wild-harvested and Fair Trade sourcing

-  Zero Waste Company

-  Mountain Rose River Project

-  Carpool, Bus and Bike Program

-  Charitable Giving Fund

-  Paid Time for Community Involvement

-  Recycled and non-toxic packaging and shipping material

-  Green landscaping and integrated pest management

-  Offset carbon footprint with Carbonfund.org

-  Company trucks powered with vegetable oil

-  Facility constructed to LEED standards

-  EWEB GreenPower Program

Click here and scroll down to “Board Projects” to learn more about this award!

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Cascadia Wildlands has proven to be a powerful force among conservation non-profits in the Pacific Northwest. Mountain Rose Herbs shares the organization’s vision of restored old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon and native steelhead, increased wolf populations, and a community strengthened by biodiversity and sustainable business practices in the Cascadian bioregion.

This unique landscape stretching from northern California to central Alaska is home to rare, indigenous species that make it an exceptional place to live. Let’s maintain and improve the environment, allowing future generations the opportunity to enjoy the same natural beauty and wilderness experiences available to us.

During the month of November you can double the impact of your donation through Mountain Rose Herbs’ Matching Gift Challenge!

Your generous donation to Cascadia Wildlands will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000! Please help us secure these much needed funds by making a donation by November 30, 2012.

Your donation will support work on several important issues including suction dredge mining for gold in endangered salmon habitat in Oregon, destructive forest practices that pollute salmon spawning grounds, and Alaska’s Copper River salmon fishery that lies within the largest intact wetland in Cascadia. To learn more about the future Wild Salmon Reserve and other projects visit www.cascawild.org.

To guarantee Mountain Rose Herbs matches your gift, please indicate that you would like your donation applied to Cascadia Wildlands’ Wild Salmon Matching Grant Program.

Donate Online!

Donate by Mail: Cascadia Wildlands, P.O. Box 10455, Eugene, Oregon 97440

Contact Camille Gullickson with questions, camille@cascwild.org, 541.434.1463

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We are quickly approaching the historic November ballot measure Prop. 37 (The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act) which requires clear labeling and will help consumers make educated choices about what they are eating. Now is the time to act!

If you live in California, please remember to vote YES on Prop. 37 on November 6^th 2012.

The Right to Know ballot initiative calls for mandatory labeling of Genetically Engineered foods and would reject the vague, misleading term “natural” which has been co-opted by mega agri-food corporations who peddle products that are anything but natural. This is an important issue for more than just Californians because the vote will set a precedent for the rest of the country.

Let’s propel our food industry in the right direction. In a grassroots effort, millions of pro-organic consumers, farmers, and businesses are standing together to defeat agribusiness/biotechnology giants. The undeniable truth is that we have the right to know what’s in our food. What are big agribusinesses hiding anyway?

Vote with your dollar and boycott businesses that use GMOs and oppose this legislation. These corporations have contributed over 35 million dollars to campaign propaganda in opposition of Prop. 37  – and Monsanto is leading the pack with a 7 million dollar chunk of change. These companies operate with no moral code or vision of a sustainable future.

Since 1999, Mountain Rose Herbs has taken a strong stance in favor of labeling GMO foods and supporting organic agriculture. We take pride in walking the walk, having contributed to the campaign and will continue to support a consumer’s right to know what they are putting into their bodies. You are what you eat!

Call to Action: Volunteer!

No matter where you are in the state or the country, you can be part of this historic campaign by volunteering today. There are so many ways to help – from inviting your friends to join us, hosting a house party, spreading the word in your community, making phone calls, sending emails and more.

Sign Up!

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