Vanguard Renewables, a national leader in developing food and dairy waste-to-renewable energy projects in the United States, is proud to announce that the Company is selected as one of ten finalists for its outstanding work in Circular Technology by Reuters Events: Global Energy Transition Awards 2024.

With a decade of experience in clean energy innovation and organic materials solutions, Vanguard Renewables® has emerged as a trailblazer in the organics-to-renewable energy industry. Since its inception in 2014, the company has expanded from managing two facilities to an impressive 32 sites across the United States. The Company continues to accelerate its growth across the Country and its goal is to provide a circular solution for food and beverage manufacturers and retailers from coast to coast.

“I am thrilled that Vanguard Renewables’ innovative approach to creating a more circular economy has been recognized as a finalist for the 2024 Global Transition Award,” stated Neil H. Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Vanguard Renewables. “This recognition is a testament to Vanguard’s commitment to sustainability and leadership within the organics-to-renewable energy landscape. By embracing a circular approach, we are not only reducing waste but also creating a cleaner future powered by renewable resources.”

Vanguard Renewables’ circular solution recycles food and beverage waste from the manufacturing and retail sectors via Farm Powered® anaerobic digestion into renewable natural gas. Partnering with Vanguard Renewables on this circular approach, companies like Polar Beverages and Cabot Creamery not only recycle unavoidable organic manufacturing byproducts at a Farm Powered anaerobic digester, but they also purchase renewable energy derived from their food and beverage waste to power their manufacturing operations. In the case of Cabot Creamery, the milk used to manufacture the butter made at that plant is also produced at the multigenerational dairy farm where they recycle the organic material.

The Global Energy Transition Awards will take place on June 25, 2024, in New York, NY, and according to Reuters Events, “The energy transition is both a social and business imperative, and it is vital that conversations around climate and sustainability are underpinned by the principles of integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Guided by Thomson Reuters’ Trust Principles, the Global Energy Transition Awards embodies a non-discriminatory and inclusive approach to celebrating excellence on the transition pathway.”

Vanguard Renewables believes that all industries need to work together to holistically find solutions and mitigation tools for our planet’s changing climate. It was for this reason that in 2020, Vanguard Renewables joined forces with industry leaders Starbucks, Unilever, and Dairy Farmers of America to launch the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance. This collaborative group of leading national and regional brands is dedicated to advancing sustainability, reducing food waste, expanding renewable energy production, creating circularity in cross-industrial sectors, and supporting regenerative agriculture practices. The Alliance has grown to more than twenty regional and national companies over the past four years.

The Company’s Farm Powered anaerobic digestion facilities play a crucial role in reducing on-farm greenhouse gas emissions. By converting inedible food and beverage materials and dairy manure into renewable natural gas, the company supports the decarbonization efforts of food and beverage manufacturers and retailers and the process diverts material from less sustainable options like landfills or incinerators. To learn more about Vanguard Renewables and its circular solutions visit us at www.vanguardrenewables.com.

About Anaerobic Digestion

Inedible or unsaleable food and beverage waste from the manufacturing and retail sectors is collected, sorted, depackaged on-site, and combined with dairy farm manure in a sealed biodigester tank. Once combined in the biodigester, microorganisms that naturally occur in manure digest the waste, converting sugars, fats, and other compounds into biogas. Harnessing the waste’s energy captures as much as 95 percent of the potential greenhouse gas emissions that would result if food and beverage waste were sent to a landfill or if the farm manure were field applied. The process produces RNG that is upgraded to pipeline-quality gas and injected into the existing pipeline infrastructure on-site, displacing traditional fossil fuels. The biogas is then used for heating and cooling or can be used to make Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles. The by-products of the anaerobic digestion process include a low-carbon and nutrient dense fertilizer (digestate) that reduces the farm’s dependency on chemical fertilizers, and a dry by-product which is used for animal bedding. When food and beverage manufacturers send their organic waste to a Farm Powered site and purchase the RNG created by their waste to power their plants, they are creating a closed-loop solution that helps to address Scope 1 and 3 emissions in their business practices.

About Vanguard Renewables

Vanguard Renewables, based in Weston, Massachusetts, is a national leader in developing food and dairy waste-to-renewable energy projects. The Company owns and operates on-farm anaerobic digester facilities in the northeast and currently operates manure-only digesters in the south and west for Dominion Energy. Vanguard Renewables is expanding nationwide and plans to complete more than 100 anaerobic digestion facilities by 2026. Vanguard Renewables is committed to advancing decarbonization by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farms and food waste, generating renewable energy, and supporting regenerative agriculture on partner farms via Farm Powered® anaerobic digestion. Vanguard Renewables is a portfolio company of funds managed by BlackRock. To learn more visit: www.vanguardrenewables.com.

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