Delhaize Banners Garner 2011 Energy Star Honors

Delhaize Group divisions Food Lion, Bloom and Bottom Dollar Food will receive major Energy Star recognition next month. The Salisbury, N.C.-based grocers were among 46 organizations honored in the Sustained Excellence category and among 111 overall 2011 award winners selected from more than 20,000 participants in the program.

Company representatives will collect the award on April 12 in Washington.

“We are … committed to being strong corporate citizens in the communities in which we operate,” noted Kyle Mitchell, VP of store development for Delhaize America South. “Food Lion family, Bloom and Bottom Dollar Food remain dedicated to environmental stewardship and [will] continue to lead the way with energy conservation initiatives.”

EPA recognizes organizations in one of three major categories: Sustained Excellence, Partner of the Year and Excellence. Winners in the Sustained Excellence category – the program’s highest award -- demonstrate ongoing energy consumption reductions, in addition to a strong corporate commitment to promoting superior energy performance.

“The grocers' long-term leadership and commitment to energy efficiency demonstrates the types of accomplishments that we can all achieve in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting our global environment,” said Elizabeth Craig, acting director of EPA's Office of Atmospheric Programs.

The divisions have one of the most advanced retail energy conservation programs in the country. For almost a decade, the grocers have implemented a variety of sustainability initiatives, including energy conservation and lowering carbon dioxide emissions throughout its 11-state operating area, thereby reducing their energy consumption by more than 25 percent, or 2.61 trillion BTUs, since 2000. Of the more than 1,570 grocery stores recognized by EPA with Energy Star, more than 900 have been stores operated by the Food Lion family of banners and Bottom Dollar Food.

The Food Lion family operates more than 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Harveys or Reid’s, and employs about 74,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Bloom operates 49 stores in the Southeast Virginia and Washington areas. Bottom Dollar Food operates 45 stores in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Energy Star began in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants associated with energy use. Today, the Energy Star designation is found on more than 60 kinds of products along with new homes and buildings.