Food Lion, Kroger, Target Named 2018 Energy Star Partners of the Year

Food Lion, the Kroger Co. and Target Corp. have received the 2018 Energy Star Partner of the Year award for using the program’s best practices in their energy management strategies and for their ongoing commitment to energy reduction.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy will recognize the grocers’ accomplishments at an April 20 ceremony in the nation’s capital.

Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion received Energy Star Partner of the Year–Sustained Excellence recognition for its continuing dedication to corporate sustainability and promotion of the program. An Energy Star partner since 2000, the Ahold Delhaize banner’s key 2017 accomplishments include:

• Achieving Energy Star certification for 75 stores in 2017; so far, 92 percent of Food Lion stores have been certified at least once, many of them several times.
• Decreasing the portfolio’s energy use intensity by 29 percent while saving 2.87 trillion British thermal units (Btu) since 2000.
• Holding a Battle of the Buildings pilot competition for 43 stores to engage associates in energy reduction efforts. In future, a larger competition will roll out encompassing the company’s entire portfolio.
• Retrofitting LED lighting on the sales floors of 109 stores, with cumulative energy savings of 19 billion Btu.
• Logging cumulative energy savings of 627,895 metric tons since becoming an Energy Star partner, which is comparable to switching 21 million incandescent lamps to LEDs.
• Contributing significantly to erstwhile parent company Delhaize America’s meeting its carbon-reduction goal three years ahead of schedule. Delhaize America surpassed its goal of a 20 percent carbon reduction by 2020 with a 23 percent reduction last year.

Kroger’s energy reduction highlights include:

• Garnering more Energy Star building certifications than any other commercial entity by certifying 320 grocery stores in 2017, bringing its total number of certified stores since 2011 to 793.
• Achieving an average Energy Star score of 70 across 1,933 facilities accounting for almost 128 million square feet.
• Saving 48.7 million kilowatt-hours of electricity by installing 3.8 million-plus LED lamps.
• Raising awareness of the Energy Star label to 9 million customers every day through store certification labels and labeled product sales.

The award “validates the ongoing work our associates are doing to reduce our impact on the environment by using natural resources responsibly and minimizing waste in our operations," noted Keith Oliver, VP of facility engineering at the Cincinnati-based grocer, which operates 2,800 retail food stores under various banners. “Kroger’s long-term goal is to reduce cumulative energy consumption — in the form of electricity — in our stores by 40 percent by 2020, as we outline in our sustainability report.” 

Also honored under the Sustained Excellence designation, Minneapolis-based Target has been an Energy Star partner since 1995, and the program has been incorporated into its corporate responsibility goals. Among its key accomplishments over the past year:

• Decreasing portfolio-wide energy consumption by 3.6 percent, saving 485 million kilowatt-hours of power.
• Certifying 106 new stores, for a total of 1,509 Energy Star-certified stores, the largest number of certified properties of any single retailer in the country. The company’s certifications also include four headquarters buildings and two data centers.
• Informing customers about the program’s goals and achievements via corporate website, indoor signing, weekly circulars and social media.
• Upgrading sales floor LED lighting in 1,000-plus stores, retrofitting rooftop units at 125 stores and installing 45 meagwatts of solar rooftop panels.
• Developing a new corporate climate policy and goals to lower greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 2015 levels by 2025.

“The 2018 Energy Star Partners of the Year have demonstrated real leadership, showing how American families and businesses can save energy, save money and reduce air emissions,” said Bill Wehrum, EPA’s assistant administrator for air and radiation.

In 2016 alone, the program’s certified products, homes, buildings and plants helped Americans save more than $30 billion in energy costs and about 400 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity while also achieving broad emissions reductions.

A complete list of this year’s winners and more information about the program’s awards program is available online.