Clif bar leading the way in sustainability as it opens new Idaho bakery

Clif Bar & Company, the American energy food company, has opened its first self-owned baking facility following a $90 million investment with sustainable development very much at the forefront of its inauguration. 

The extensive 300,000 sq ft facility, located in Idaho plans to produce organic-certified Clif energy bars as well as its whole grain Kid ZBars.

The emphasis placed upon sustainability by Clif Bar & Company centres itself around a philosophy of repositioning people with the natural world; introducing a notion of biophilia to the company’s ethos.

Important eco-friendly aspects of the facility:

• A plethora of windows, 200 in total accompanied by vaulted skylights and light-directing solatubes
• Indoor walls made from recycled wood and stone
• Several indoor plants
• Projected images of natural landscapes onto the walls
• An outdoor area containing more than 6000 shrubs, grasses and trees

Further to this, the facility is accompanied by hybrid cooling towers that allegedly contribute up to a third less water than most equivalent bakeries, a project motivated by Clif Bar’s prior subscription to the Connect the Drops initiative that strives to protect the pressured Californian water supply, co-ordinated by Ceres. 

Clif Bar are well aware of the growing demand for organic food and plans on sourcing in future, more organic ingredients and describes its new Idaho bakery as a “healthy, welcoming place”.