6 Ahold USA Stores Earn LEED Certification

Six recently built Ahold USA stores have received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the Washington-based U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the national accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance sustainable buildings. This latest round of certifications gives Ahold USA the largest fleet of LEED-certified stores among U.S. grocery retailers.

The stores are Cranston, R.I., and Roslindale, Mass., Stop & Shop locations operated by the Stop & Shop New England division; Arverne, N.Y., and Oceanside, N.Y., Stop & Shop locations operated by the Stop & Shop New York Metro division; a Burtonsville, Md., Giant location operated by Giant-Landover division; and a Trexlertown, Pa., Giant Food location operated by the Giant-Carlisle division. These stores feature white roofs to reflect sunlight and reduce heat gain in the stores, skylights to harvest daylight and lower electricity consumption during peak daylight hours, and LED lighting throughout. Additionally, smaller cooling systems boost the efficiency of refrigerated display cases, and open-deck refrigerated cases have been replaced with closed-door units.

“With each new LEED-certified building, we get one step closer to USGBC’s vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation,” said Rick Fedrizzi, the council’s president, CEO and founding chair. “With these certifications, Ahold USA has demonstrated its commitment to the green building movement and working toward a better future for everyone in the neighborhoods and communities in which these stores will be a part of daily life.”

“By utilizing these innovative green building technologies, we are building all-new stores across our retail divisions according to the LEED standards to reduce our environmental impact in the communities we serve for future generations,” noted Jihad Rizkallah, VP, responsible retailing at Ahold USA in Carlisle, Pa.

To date, the company has 56 stores that have achieved LEED certification for existing buildings.

Part of Ahold, an Amsterdam-based retail conglomerate that operates supermarkets in the United States and Europe, Ahold USA consists of four regional divisions -- Stop & Shop New England, Stop & Shop New York Metro, Giant Landover, and Giant Carlisle -- that together operate nearly 775 supermarkets with about 120,000 associates in 14 states and the District of Columbia along with online grocer Peapod.