Grocers Recognized for Reducing Environmental Impact
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) GreenChill program has again honored Food Lion, Meijer, Giant Eagle and Aldi for their work to reduce the environmental impacts of commercial refrigeration systems across their footprints. Food Lion was a founding member of the EPA’s GreenChill program in 2007 and this year has been awarded its Superior Goal Achievement honor.
Food Lion has taken several steps to reduce its refrigerant emissions, including putting doors on refrigerated cases and monitors on key refrigerant devices, each of which reduced operating costs and reduced carbon emissions. Aldi, meanwhile, has transitioned to natural refrigerants and has lowered the global warming potential of emissions from its stores.
"We share our customers' passion for protecting the environment, so working to reduce our carbon footprint is a major focus for us. Being recognized as a leader in sustainability by the EPA time and time again makes our work stand out and is something truly special," said Dan Gavin, VP of national real estate at Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi. "We're working to decrease our overall impact on the climate more and more each day, with each step bringing us that much closer to becoming 'real zero,' or completely emissions-free. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Aldi and our planet."
For its part, Meijer has made reducing its refrigerant leak rate a priority and is now 19% below the industry average. This is the second consecutive year the Midwest retailer has received the GreenChill honor.
"We understand that to be a good company, we must be a good neighbor, and ultimately that means integrating environmental sustainability into our daily operations," said Vik Srinivasan, chief administrative officer for Meijer. "We are committed to lessening our carbon footprint, and I'm pleased that our teams continue to focus on refrigeration management through our partnership with GreenChill to help us reach our environmental goals."
Giant Eagle has been honored with both Superior and Exceptional Goal Achievement, which recognize partners that meet or exceed their annual and stretch GreenChill refrigerant emission goals, respectively.
“Operational sustainability is truly a strategic, company-wide initiative for us, and we’re pleased to have our efforts recognized with these GreenChill achievements,” said spokesperson Jannah Jablonowski for Pennsylvania-based Giant Eagle. “We greatly appreciate the value and expertise that our partnership with GreenChill brings to the table, and we are honored to be a founding Partner of this impactful program.”
Food Lion announced further sustainability goals last year, and is aiming to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% from its own operations while working with its suppliers to reduce emissions by 15% across the entire supply chain. Earlier this year, Food Lion became the only U.S. company to receive the EPA Energy Star Partner of the Year Award for 21 consecutive years.
“Food Lion continues to take bold action to reduce our carbon footprint and deliver our sustainability goals,” said Matt Yates, VP of brand strategy at Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion. “We’re committed to this work as we strive to be the best neighbor we can for the towns and cities we serve. Food Lion believes that sustainability improves the quality of life for our neighbors, protects our ecosystem and preserves natural resources for future generations.”
For the full list of 2022 GreenChill Awardees, click here.
Food Lion has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, and employs more than 82,000 associates. Its parent company, Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Aldi U.S. is No. 24 on the list, Meijer is No. 20 and Giant Eagle is No. 36.
