Sustainable Standards

Trading partners pull together to keep the grocery industry lean and green.

Additional reporting by Kathleen Furore

When Progressive Grocer launched its Green Grocer Awards in 2007, the concept of sustainability was still in its early stages.

In subsequent years, however, "going green" in the grocery business has migrated from the exception to the rule among retailers and suppliers, which realized that operating in a manner that's responsible to the environment is generally good for the bottom line in the long run.

Ideas such as building supermarkets to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards went from being a novelty to the norm. Along the way,PG recognized retailers that went above and beyond the call of duty in regard to energy conservation, construction methods, lighting, landscape irrigation, cold storage and other basics of the business.

To a certain extent, we'd like to think PG helped expedite this movement by recognizing the industry's achievements, at least on the retailing side. That said, it has become a challenge to continue our Green Grocer Awards in the same manner as we've done in the past, for the simple reason that everybody's gone green now. And we see that as a good thing.

As such, we have no intention of altering the timing of our annual salute to the industry's ever-improving sustainability strides with our March issue, which will continue to serve as our primary platform to evaluate the achievements not only of grocers, but also the trading partners along all links of the supply chain.

Working together is a central tenet of the food industry, so it makes sense that working together is how it can best operate in ways responsible to the Earth that delivers the bounty from which it profits.

Supermarkets Making a Difference

While the retail industry is one of the largest energy consumers in the country, its members are some of the strongest participants in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program that encourages organizations to use green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use.

Blaine Collinson, director of the Green Power Partnership, lists Giant Eagle, Whole Foods Market, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and H-E-B among the grocery retailers that have made "market-leading commitments to using clean, renewable energy." Giant Eagle, Food Lion and Kroger all have garnered Energy Star honors.

Grocers' initiatives are impressive.

Among the highlights:

Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC): Earlier this year, Tyler, Texas-based BGC joined the EPA's GreenChill partnership (www.epa.gov/greenchill), in which the regional supermarket chain pledges to go beyond regulatory requirements to reduce refrigerant gas emissions. By changing to environmentally friendlier refrigerants and adopting green refrigeration practices, Green-Chill partner companies typically have emissions that are half the national average.

"We continue to explore ways to positively impact the environment," says Rick Rayford, BGC president and CEO. "This pledge demonstrates our ongoing effort to provide our customers with more than just a great place to shop. We are committed to the safety of our communities and our environment, and believe this partnership will help us exceed standard business practices and be responsible environmental stewards."

Food Lion: Last May, the company's state-of-the-art store in Williamsburg, Va., received LEED Silver certification. The store's environmentally friendly features include an on-site recycling center, an educational kiosk and preferred parking for carpool vehicles. Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion has a long history of dedication to sustainability initiatives. The company has reduced its energy consumption by more than 28 percent (or 2.78 trillion BTUs) since 2000, has been recognized twice as an Energy Star Partner of the Year for Energy Management, and has been recognized four times with Energy Star's prestigious Sustained Excellence Award.

Giant Eagle: In April 2012, Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle debuted its 83,000- square-foot, state-of-the art green store in Cleveland, which was northeast Ohio's first supermarket with a solar roof. The roof features a tubular solar array and skylights that help offset the store's need for electric power from more traditional sources. In the vestibule, Giant Eagle tracks the energy savings and system output, and describes the process of solar energy generation for interested shoppers. The company also has the honor of operating the store named the world's first LEED-certified supermarket; seven of the grocer's stores now hold that certification.

H-E-B: The retailer requires energy-efficient lighting in stores and parking lots, saving more than S3 million per year and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 78 million pounds. Other low-cost measures, such as closing dock doors, repairing water leaks and turning off lights when not in use, have also helped to save significant amounts of energy. According to San Antonio-based H-E-B, its cardboard and plastic recycling efforts saved the equivalent of 11.7 million trees, 1 million barrels of oil, 6.8 cubic yards of landfill space and 387 million kilowatt-hours of energy per year, enough energy savings to power more than 34,000 homes for a year.

Kroger: Twelve years ago, the Cincinnati-based grocer made a commitment to saving energy that it continues to honor today. The company employs a variety of practices to increase energy efficiency, using technology such as LED lights and engaging store associates in energy-savings initiatives. As a result, Kroger has reduced energy use by 31 percent since 2000, saving enough electricity to power every single-family home in Columbus, Ohio, for one year. Company-wide, energy savings have totaled more than 2.34 billion kilowatt-hours and 1.47 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. These initiatives have also saved Kroger more than $100 million per year in energy costs.

Natural Grocers: Last January, the Denver-based chain, which bills itself as an "affordable organic grocer," opened its newest location in Omaha, Neb. The store was built using such green features as energy-efficient motion light sensors, 100 percent post-consumer-content tiles, high-efficiency heat-exchange systems, polished concrete flooring and commercial-grade LED lights. In addition, disposable shopping bags (paper or plastic) aren't available; if customers forget to bring reusable bags, Natural Grocers offers free recycled boxes or sturdy affordable totes. On its shelves, the store offers only natural and organic products. Natural Grocers was founded in 1955 by the Isely family and continues under family management, with stores in Colorado, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico, Montana, Kansas, Idaho, Nebraska and Arizona.

Walmart: In August, the Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer unveiled its first on-site, large-scale wind turbine pilot project at its distribution center in Red Bluff, Calif. Walmart estimates that the turbine alone will provide roughly 1 megawatt of power, or 15 percent to 20 percent of the distribution center's yearly electrical use. With more than 180 renewable-energy projects in operation or development, Walmart generates enough energy to power 78,000 American homes annually. The company boasts 150 solar installations in seven countries, delivering 71 million kilowatt-hours of energy annually to its stores, clubs and distribution centers. The goal: to become powered by 100 percent renewable energy.

Whole Foods Market: The first major retailer to offset 100 percent of its energy use with wind energy credits, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods has purchased more than 4 billion kilowatt-hours of wind-based renewable-energy credits since its first transaction in 2006. The company (a multiple EPA Green Power Leader honoree) hosts or owns solar energy systems at 16 retail store locations and one distribution center, and has contracted for up to 20 more. In addition, Whole Foods became the first U.S. company to generate its electricity needs on-site using recycled cooking oil, at its Everett, Mass., commissary kitchen.

Green Globes for Grocers

Whole Foods and Boise, Idaho-based design firm CSHQA have chosen the Green Globes certification program for documenting and verifying sustainability and energy efficiency on their projects. Since 2007, CSHQA has designed five stores in Utah, Colorado and Idaho for the grocer's Rocky Mountain division; all five have received ratings of two or three Green Globes (on a scale of one to four globes).

Green Globes, administered by the Portland, Ore.-based Green Building Initiative (GBI) (www.thegbi.org), is advancing as a popular alternative to the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification, which has been embraced by the grocery community.

CSHQA notes that Whole Foods chose to go with Green Globes for several reasons, among them the immediate award availability, modest cost, short data-collection period, online data compiling and in-person final assessment.

"Green Globes is used to certify a wide variety of building types, including many that could not be certified through LEED," explains Sharene Rekow, VP of business development for GBI. Such buildings include recreational centers, transit centers and parking garages. "It is increasingly becoming the system of choice for building owners, managers, architects and engineers who want an alternative that offers the quickest and most understandable way to achieve superior building performance," Rekow says.

Among the key points of difference: Green Globes doesn't have program prerequisites, it benchmarks against actual regional energy performance data, and it requires less time to complete documentation. Green Globes is recognized or endorsed by 23 states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health, among others.

Rekow notes the Green Globes program is supported by a customer service team via phone or e-mail. "They help with ordering issues, walking a client through technicalities, offering training about how to become a Green Globes professional or other service-related issues," she says.

In addition to Whole Foods, Green Globes standards have been used by Wegmans Food Markets and Publix Super Markets Inc., Rekow says. "We sought the input from the grocery industry to make the Green Globes program better," she explains, noting that the program's new construction module includes criteria from the GreenChill program. "Existing buildings, which are of even more importance to the grocery industry, will also have criteria from Green-Chill built into our upcoming model by this summer."

GBI is actively promoting Green Globes to the grocery industry as "an alternative to LEED that is one-third the cost, captures all of the building information in an online tool and sends on-site assessors to evaluate the project," Rekow says, noting that the group plans to partner with GreenChill on informational webinars.

To review a case study of the Green Globes program at a Whole Foods location in Massachusetts, visit www.thegbi.org/assets/case_study/Green-Globes-whole-foods.pdf.

Consumer Packaged Green

CPG companies are pursuing sustainability initiatives in a big way, with programs that promote responsible practices throughout the communities they serve.

The Campbell Soup Co., whose products have been center store mainstays for decades, has been named one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, in a ranking by Corporate Knights, a media and investment research company in Toronto.

Camden, N.J.-based Campbell is one of 10 U.S. companies, and the only U.S. food and beverage company, to make the list, which includes companies from 22 countries. "We continue to strengthen our long-term commitment to creating value for our business and society as a sustainable and socially responsible company," says Dave Stangis, Campbell's VP of public affairs and corporate responsibility.

Corporate Knights ranks the Global 100 (www.global100.org) using a two-step methodology, selecting companies based on such information as sustainability disclosure practices, financial health and product types, and then scoring them by sector-specific key performance indicators primarily related to energy, water, waste metrics and community engagement.

Key Campbell initiatives include sustainability investments across its plant network over the past four years that have yielded savings of more than $42.5 million; a reduction in water use by more than 3 billion gallons; energy savings resulting in the elimination of more than 280,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 2009; construction at its largest manufacturing site of a 60-acre, 10-megawatt solar field that generates 15 percent of the electricity to operate the plant, plus a partnership to create a biogas power plant at the same site to generate renewable electricity from production waste; the redesign of plastic product packaging that saved more than 1.2 million pounds of plastic last year; distribution of more than $40 million in product donations globally; sales of $3.9 billion of products with improved nutrient profiles; the start of a 10-year, $10 million "Campbell Healthy Communities" program to reduce the rate of childhood obesity and hunger; and the donation of more than 23,000 volunteer hours in the United States and Canada to support local Campbell communities.

Meanwhile, Tyson Foods Inc., has received an "A" from the Amsterdam-based Global Reporting Initiative for its latest corporate social responsibility report. The new report (www.tysonfoods.com/sustainability) is the fourth that the Springdale, Ark.-based meat and poultry producer has issued since 2005, but the first to receive this grade, which represents a high degree of disclosure and transparency in sustainability reporting.

"For us, sustainability is about trying to do the right thing in everything we do," says Donnie Smith, Tyson's president and CEO. "It's fundamental to our core values, cuts across every aspect of our business, and supports our mission of making great food and making a difference."

Among Tyson's key accomplishments: last year's launch of "FarmCheck," a program to audit its suppliers' animal treatment; cutting water consumption by 11 percent since 2004; reducing truck miles by 145 million since 2011; launching new products that feature lower fat and sodium content and eliminate food allergens, to meet new school nutrition standards; donating 18 million pounds of food for hunger and disaster relief in the past three years; and donating $10 million to support education, health and human services, families, and the environment since 2010.

Among other meat producers, Cargill partnered with TEVA Energy in Altamonte Springs, Fla., to install a solar energy system at the Minnetonka, Minn.-based company's Fresno, Calif., facility, which processes 400 million pounds of beef products annually.

"The addition of solar energy to preheat boiler water complements our methane gas recovery and use, which reduces our dependence on natural gas by almost 30 percent and helps us move our Fresno beef-processing facility closer to being truly sustainable through our incorporation of additional renewable-energy sources," says John Niemann, Cargill's Fresno-based VP/GM. "We are continuously exploring options and taking actions that reinforce our focus on environmental stewardship and resource conservation, while serving our customers and the consuming public, and being a good corporate neighbor."

Solar panels have yielded long-term benefits at Sedro-Woolley, Wash.-based organic produce marketing company CF Fresh, which installed a 130-panel array atop its office building in August 2007.

The installation has averaged a little more than 20,000 kilowatt-hours produced annually, which CF Fresh deems a good result, given the rainy climate of northwestern Washington. In 2008, the company produced 37 percent of the total electricity used at the site; by last year, that percentage topped 43 percent.

"This project is truly sustainable, both financially and environmentally," says Steve Mackey, EVP/CFO and part-owner of CF Fresh. "While the upfront investment was considerable, solar technology has advanced to the point where the life expectancy of the solar system far exceeds the expected cost-recovery period on the project."

Last month, Stamford, Conn.-based Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and The Coca-Cola Foundation announced a call for applications for the 2013 Coca-Cola/KAB Recycling Bin Grant Program, an initiative designed to expand and support recycling in communities across the country. The program is funded through a $300,000 grant from the foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Co.

Since 2010, more than 29,000 recycling bins have been distributed through the program. "Studies have shown that recycling bins placed in convenient locations significantly improve the amount of material recycled," says Lori George Billingsley, VP of community relations for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Refreshments.

Nonfoods Go Green, Too

In January, Green Seal (www.GreenSeal.org), the nation's oldest nonprofit environmental certification organization, issued a new standard designed specifically to address the lifecycle impacts of laundry care products for institutional and industrial settings.

In addition to minimizing or eliminating the use of many hazardous ingredients often found in these products, the new GS-51 standard provides a benchmark in terms of product concentration by establishing minimum requirements for concentrated (2X) and ultra-concentrated (4X) detergents and fabric softeners.

"Research has shown that the environmental impact of these products can be reduced by concentrating the product, thereby minimizing its volume," explains Dr. Arthur Weissman, president and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Green Seal. "Concentrated products use less packaging material and contain less water, meaning fewer pallets to transport, fewer trucks on the road and less storage space needed. These improvements represent a smaller carbon footprint as well."

About 80 percent of the environmental impact of these products occurs during usage, so the standard requires that labels recommend using the proper amount, washing at the lowest possible temperature and washing a full load. GS-51 covers more than 20 categories of products for conventional laundry and dry cleaning, including detergents, prewash products and spot removers; additives such as alkali boosters; and fabric care products such as anti-static treatments, starches and fabric softeners.

In the packaging arena, St. Louis-based Anchor Packaging, a manufacturer of specialty food packaging used in restaurant and supermarket takeout meals, received nearly $57,000 in energy provider incentives for installing energy-efficient high-bay lighting, lighting controls and process upgrades that will significantly reduce the amount of electricity used at its Marmaduke, Ark., plant.

"We are pleased that the lighting and equipment changes implemented with this project will conserve substantial amounts of energy each year," says Brian Hackett, Anchor Packaging engineering manager, "and assure that the energy that is consumed within the plant is for direct manufacturing processes."

DuPont is sponsoring its 25^th Awards for Packaging Innovation (www.packaging.dupont.com), with winners selected based on excellence in one or more of these areas: innovation, sustainability and cost/waste reduction.

"Packaging plays the role of 'silent hero' in so many facets of life — delivering safer bottles, fresher food, affordable and convenient consumer goods," says Shanna Moore, global director, sustainability at DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers, and leader/chair of the awards program. "This anniversary year posed the opportunity to take a retrospective view to see how past winners changed our lives and to envision a future where packaging is helping to solve world problems. In the coming months, we will be highlighting past breakthroughs in packaging that has significantly transformed the way we live."

Winners will be honored at a May 16 ceremony in DuPont's hometown of Wilmington, Del. This year's judging panel includes representatives from Campbell and Wegmans.

"We are committed to the safety of our communities and our environment, and believe this partnership [with GreenChill] will help us exceed standard business practices and be responsible environmental stewards."

—Rick Rayford, Brookshire Grocery Co.

"We continue to strengthen our long-term commitment to creating value for our business and society as a sustainable and socially responsible company".

—Dave Stangis, Campbell Soup Co.

"For us, sustainability is about trying to do the right thing in everything we do."

—Donnie Smith, Tyson Foods

Hall of Fame Members

Ahold USA

Delhaize Group

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.

H-E-B

The Kroger Co.

PCC Natural Markets

Publix Super Markets Inc.

Safeway Inc.

Stater Bros.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co.

Supervalu Inc.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Weis Markets

Whole Foods Market