Mother’s Market Reveals Energy Savings

Six Mother’s Market & Kitchen stores have received enhancements from energy efficiency investment group LCTA Group LLC (The Leading Center for Technology Advancement), achieving, over the course of five months, an initial energy savings of 115,520 kilowatt-hours per month, the equivalent, according to EPA, of 206 passenger vehicles driven for a year.

The seven-store Southern California natural and organic food and supplement chain joined forces with San Antonio-based LCTA early last year to develop a plan that would optimize energy conservation in their grocery stores, without spending any capital or taking on further risk or debt.

“Mother's Market & Kitchen recognized that reducing energy consumption was more than a positive impact on the environment,” noted LCTA Managing Partner Lane Traylor. “They understood it would provide validated saving to their bottom line and would be a truly valuable, long-term initiative.”

After identifying the best areas for improvement, LCTA began deploying a series of upgrades to store and warehouse technologies to help save more energy. Among these upgrades were converting fluorescent lighting to LEDs, adopting ECM motors for refrigeration, and modifying refrigeration and HVAC controls programming to limit energy expenditure.

“Our goal was to implement a plan that would not only enhance efficiency for our stores, but really benefit the communities we serve and our footprint on the environment,” explained Steven Prendergast, COO of Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Mother’s Market & Kitchen.

The energy upgrades were made at four Mother’s Market & Kitchen stores last July, with two more locations completed last October. "The seventh site was already efficient and did not require any major enhancements," LCTA VP Steve Wagner told Progressive Grocer.

LCTA anticipates a total annual savings of 1.2 million to 1.5 million kilowatt-hours at the upgraded Mother's Market & Kitchen stores.