2022 Impact Goals: What's Ahead

2022 Impact Goals: What's Ahead

If you saw our 2021 Impact Reflection report you'll know that in the coming year we are focusing our company’s efforts on three areas, important to all of us at Luke’s Lobster:

  1. Climate Change
  2. Waste Management and Trash Reduction
  3. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Luke’s Lobster we are proud to be a Certified B Corporation (recently recertified at a 30% higher score than our last recertification!) and believe businesses can and should work to be a force of good for the economy, the environment, and our communities. The B Corp ethos is the strong undercurrent that drives all of our work forward.

In 2021, we laid groundwork for ongoing commitments with impact that we believe will grow through 2022 and beyond. Being that transparency is one of our core values, we laid out below what we will be working on in 2022:

Climate Change

The consequences of climate change are being felt across the globe, but the Gulf of Maine is currently warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans. At Luke’s, we simultaneously work to build resiliency in our coastal communities and to do our part to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to slow climate change.

Resiliency

To help build resiliency, we will :

  • Continue to sell and promote a diverse variety of Maine seafood on our Luke’s Lobster Online Market.
  • Feature Gulf of Maine specialty seafood through our flagship restaurant on Portland Pier in Portland, ME.
  • Invest donation dollars into an indigenous non-profit called MicMac Farms, farming brook trout sustainably in Presque Isle, ME.

Decarbonization

  • Offset 100% of the emissions associated with our UPS shipping from Luke’s Lobster Online Market deliveries.
  • Connect our fishing coops and buy stations with energy efficiency audits and funding opportunities so they can make upgrades, reduce their emissions, and reduce their energy costs to keep more profit;
  • Work with our partners at Maine Standard Biofuel to bring 20% recycled biodiesel (made from fryer and grease trap oil from our and other local Maine restaurants) to our fishermen at three coops, reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions by an estimated 1.9 million lbs per year;
  • Partner with the Island Institute and our friends at Maine Electric Boat company to help bring electric boat engine pilots to several diverse coastal seafood businesses
  • Expand our phase change material program and make upgrades to our heating and cooling systems in our production plant to reduce consumption of both electricity and propane;

Waste Management and Trash Reduction

Water

  • Reduce the dissolved solids, proteins, fats, oils, and greases that go down our drain, put stress on our local wastewater treatment facility, and (you guessed it!) decrease our overall GHG emissions that come downstream at that treatment plant
  • Install an innovative water filtration system that uses gravity and physical screens to remove the vast majority of solutes and then a tiny fraction of the chemicals that are typically used in water filtration technology.

Packaging and Disposables

  • Introduce an eco-box for live lobster distribution from our Online Market
  • Conduct a packaging audit of all our business: our shacks, our Online Market, and our branded grocery and wholesale business.
  • Upgrade our overall waste management program so that every shack achieves the maximum possible recycling in their region.
  • Increase from two shacks with full composting programs (Portland and San Francisco) to 100% of our shacks.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

  • Bring D&I training to all of our teammates, not just our management level, to better fulfill the department’s mission statement: To instill a culture of community, where everyone is valued for their differences and are encouraged to bring their authentic self and their varied perspectives to work. To promote this culture throughout our organization, which will help foster an inclusive and representative environment for all our stakeholders (Teammates, Guests, Suppliers and Partners).
  • Work with MicMac Farms’ non-profit to help them grow their farm and hatchery to commercial scale
  • Partnering with an amazing company for our Spring/Summer limited-edition roll that we don’t want to give away just yet (stay tuned for more on that!)
  • Launch a major initiative to help BIPOC teens overcome structural permitting barriers to entering the commercial lobster industry in Maine

While it's always helpful and inspiring to look back on what we have accomplished in the last year, we know there is still much work ahead of us and our sights are set on the year to come. We are excited and ready to continue on our journey to be the world's most respected lobster brand. We're looking at you 2022!

Back to Blog