Press Release - Authentic Seacoast Partners with Ecology Action Centre as New Sustainability Ally

AUTHENTIC SEACOAST PARTNERS WITH ECOLOGY ACTION CENTRE AS NEW SUSTAINABILITY ALLY

Guysborough, Nova Scotia – Authentic Seacoast Company Ltd today announced that it has partnered with Ecology Action Centre of Nova Scotia and been recognized as a new Sustainability Ally.

Authentic Seacoast’s founder Glynn Williams said, “We are honoured to have been invited to partner with Ecology Action Centre as a new Sustainability Ally and to assist this wonderful organization with its important efforts in raising awareness of, advocating for and protecting our natural environment for the benefit of all Nova Scotians. EAC does incredible work highlighting the threats and challenges before us, while working with stakeholders in a spirit of collaboration to find sustainable solutions that respect nature.”

Rowan Swain, Member Relations Officer (EAC) said, “We’re excited to welcome Authentic Seacoast to our Sustainability Allies, a small group of businesses in our communities who believe in a mandate of environmental stewardship and social justice and have committed to support the Ecology Action Centre, as we take action on climate change, biodiversity and environmental justice.”

Glynn stated “Guysborough County and the Eastern Shore are incredibly beautiful; heavy industry is virtually absent. The air, water and land are clean. Some look at this as an opportunity to exploit nature’s bounty. Several proposed mega-projects, if they proceed, will have terrible consequences to the emergent tourism industry along the Eastern Shore and to other sustainable businesses whose environmental footprint is benign, and of course to the habitat and natural environment in which they are proposed.

We know firsthand the importance of job creation to the economic well-being of a community and the challenges that are faced when our young people leave to greener pastures. We support economic development initiatives that attract businesses and jobs in non-exploitive sectors and which are respectful of nature and contribute to building the fabric of our communities in a sustainable manner. This is why Authentic Seacoast was created. Working with EAC and our other Sustainability Allies, I know we have a bright future in Nova Scotia.”

Rowan further said, “This year, the Ecology Action Centre will be taking on a variety of challenges facing our environment. We’ll be pushing for a commitment from the Province to protect 17% of Nova Scotia’s land and the passing of a strong Biodiversity Act, ensuring our newly secured Coastal Act is implemented, helping our Province move toward sustainable energy production, advocating for stronger protections for the remaining 400 right whales, stopping destructive open-pit gold mining, and much more. We are so grateful to partner with Authentic Seacoast as our newest Sustainability Ally, as we face these challenges.”

“Authentic Seacoast is looking forward to working with the team at EAC”, said Kendra Williams, Marketing Manager. “Several efforts underway illustrate our commitment to environmental and social justice issues and we know that we can do more. For example:

• this year we established a commercial apiary on land adjacent to our distillery/brewery to bring back healthy bee populations to the Guysborough area and to produce all-natural honey products. Pollinators are critical to our food supply.
• continuous improvement in our manufacturing processes led to more than a 30% reduction in our water usage this year from our naturally replenished aquifer at our distillery, ensuring the quality and health of our water supply for years to come;
• Our certified organic and fair-trade Full Steam® coffees illustrate our commitment to social justice and to healthy foods.
• This year, the addition of a state-of-the-art catalytic oxidizer was added to our new coffee roaster, dramatically enhancing air quality. We believe this to be the only catalytic oxidizer in use by a coffee roaster in the Province;
• Our new “low impact” glamping experience at the vineyard, will bring visitors closer to nature and to further their enjoyment of our beautiful waterfront;
• A total renovation of Distillery House in 2019, with new windows, enhanced insulation and a tighter envelope, and new plumbing will reduce energy consumption and water usage;
• the acquisition of Acadian Maple® of Upper Tantallon, will ensure that Nova Scotia harvesters of maple syrup, an environmentally sustainable, all-natural and healthy locally-produced agricultural product, will have a committed partner and can invest with confidence in their businesses for years to come;
• 44 pristine acres of mature forest on harbourfront lands adjacent to our distillery were acquired to be preserved and protected from development;
• A preliminary GHG impact study showed that mature forests owned by Authentic Seacoast in Nova Scotia absorbed 7X the estimated CO2 emissions from all of our consolidated activities in the Province. Authentic Seacoast is a net absorber of greenhouse gases.

ASC EAC News Release 2019_Dec 17_Final