Walking into Menehune Water offices, the company’s success is obvious -- awards lining the walls read “Hawaii’s #1 largest bottled water company” and “State of Hawaii’s Small Business Exporter of the Year.” Ken Simon, the founder and president of Menehune Water, is now taking strides towards clean energy. He explains, “Wherever possible, we have installed solar panels to generate electricity. [The Oahu office] being an example, we installed a million dollar system about six years ago which has reduced our electric bill by $12,000 a month and reduced our carbon footprint.”
Ken recently switched from diesel to electric vehicles for his sales team with the purchase of nine Nissan Leafs. He has plans to “apply electric vehicles wherever possible throughout our system in the future.” Ken enthusiastically adds, “We’re very excited and anxious to, at some point, convert to all electric vehicles. I’m sure we will in my lifetime.”
Since it was established in 1985, Menehune Water has been a local favorite. Ken says he is most proud of the company’s “green” reputation. “We’ve been extremely green before the word ‘green’ even came up.”