More Michigan businesses are making efforts toward becoming sustainable, including some businesses you wouldn’t expect.
A car dealership in Mt Pleasant invests in more than just cars.
Just a few months ago, Krapohl Ford and Lincoln installed more than 300 solar panels on their body shop. That adds to more than 500 panels that were already installed on their main building. Mark Smith is General Manager and Co-owner of Krapohl Ford, which is a supporter of WCMU. He said his interest in solar energy started with windmills.
“I saw, to be honest, I remember Union Township, their Township hall, they put up some windmills, to kind of test them out. So I checked into various alternatives, windmills, solar, and discovered that solar could make some sense,” Smith said.
Smith said Krapohl Ford has also invested in LED lighting for their parking lot and oil burning furnaces to reduce oil waste. He said these additions were costly, but they positively impact business overall.
Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay is another business that’s going green.
Sherri Campbell-Fenton is the managing owner of Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay. She said the business has always tried to be sustainable, and has increased efforts over time.
“We have tried to reduce our energy footprint by utilizing LED lighting throughout our entire properties. We have high efficiency heating systems. We’ve partnered with Tesla to provide energy efficient charging stations, you know different things like that,” Campbell-Fenton said.
Both Campbell-Fenton and Smith say they plan to continue to achieve sustainability in their respective businesses.
This story was produced as part of the Michigan News Group Internship. A collaboration between WCMU and eight community newspapers. Riley works at the Cadillac News.