Stop & Shop Introduces Reduced-Emissions Fuel Program
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. has launched Restore reduced-emissions fuel program at 105 of the chain’s fuel stations in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. When customers fill their gas tanks, the program calculates and offsets tailpipe emissions through investments in certified carbon-reduction projects such as reforestation, and renewable-energy initiatives such as wind and solar, reducing the harmful effects of those emissions by as much as 30 percent.
According to the grocer, the program is the first of its kind in New England.
“We’re committed to running our business sustainably and responsibly,” noted Gordon Reid, president of Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop. “Together with our customers, we’re reducing our environmental impact and helping the communities we serve. We’re proud to be a part of the solution when it comes to climate change, and to be leading the way in terms of fuel emissions reductions in our industry."
Stop & Shop fuel customers don’t need to enroll in Restore because the offsets occur automatically. To ensure the program’s integrity, environmental technology company GreenPrint is providing real-time audited reporting in regard to details on carbon emissions, offsets purchased and retired, and project investments.
“We are excited to work with Stop & Shop to help them meet the needs of today’s consumers in a purpose-driven way with an eye on a better tomorrow through more sustainable practices,” said Pete Davis, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based GreenPrint, creator of the first reduced-emissions programs. “Through the Restore program, Stop & Shop is differentiating their brand. They are empowering consumers to make better choices at the pump while giving back to the local communities they serve and making a positive impact on the environment.”
Stop & Shop sister banner Giant/Martin’s launched a similar reduced-emissions program at its own fuel stations, also in partnership with GreenPrint, back in April 2018.
As well as a commitment to plant 100,000 trees with the Nebraska City, Neb.-based Arbor Day Foundation, Stop & Shop is planting trees and making charitable contributions in local communities across its marketing area to celebrate the program’s launch. The grocer held its first Restore kickoff event in Hadley, Mass., on Sept. 23, followed by rollouts in Berlin, Conn., on Sept. 24; Johnston, R.I., on Sept, 25; and Dedham, Mass., on Sept. 26.
The banner’s sustainability efforts also include its green energy facility in Freetown, Mass., where inedible food products from its New England stores that can’t be sold or donated to area food banks are converted into clean energy, and the elimination of single-use plastic bags at its Connecticut stores.
Stop & Shop employs nearly 60,000 associates and operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 4 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.
