Safeway Enrolls 11 Stores in Sustainability Pilot

Safeway has enrolled 11 of its stores in Manomet's Grocery Stewardship Certification (GSC) program, making them the first stores in California to pilot the program.

By joining the program, grocers show their commitment to incorporating operational sustainability best practices in stores, reducing their environmental impact and saving resources. This helps retailers save money, which, in turn, helps keep prices down for shoppers.

“Safeway prioritizes sustainability throughout all of our operations and was excited about the opportunity to pilot the GSC at our California stores,” said Jonathan Mayes, SVP, external affairs and chief diversity officer at Safeway, a banner of the Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos. “The GSC showed us the areas where we are excelling, as well as where we can make improvements. We’re also delighted by how engaged our employees were during the entire process, and how we can continue to further embed sustainable best practices in our stores.”

As a result of its sustainable operating practices, Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway has lowered its energy footprint, conserved water and diverted food waste from the landfill.

Since launching in 2012, GSC has worked with more than a dozen retailers in the United States and Canada. GSC works with grocers to engage employees on operational sustainability strategies, and to review store-level practices and equipment with an eye to increasing energy efficiency, boosting revenue and lowering costs. While there are a number of programs that focus on high-performance buildings, Manomet’s GSC program expands into employee practices and procedures to further engage retail stores.

Other grocers to implement the GSC program from Plymouth, Mass.-based Manomet include Giant Eagle, Hannaford and ShopRite.