Albertsons, Hornbachers, Sprouts Farmers…
Albertsons, Hornbacher’s, Sprouts
Farmers Market, and Whole Foods stores take steps to reduce harmful
emissions from refrigerants
(September 19, 2011) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership is announcing the recipients of the program’s 2011 Environmental Achievement Awards. Several supermarket companies, including Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods, and SUPERVALU, which operates Alberstons and Hornbacher’s stores, are being recognized for their achievements in refrigerant management. The refrigerants used by supermarkets, if not managed properly, contribute to climate change, and harm the ozone layer, which protects people from cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation.
GreenChill is an EPA partnership with supermarkets to reduce harmful refrigerant emissions and decrease partners’ impact on the ozone layer and climate change. GreenChill works with supermarkets to help them transition to environmentally-friendlier refrigerants, reduce the amount of refrigerant they use, eliminate refrigerant leaks, and adopt green refrigeration technologies and environmental best practices. More than 7,300 stores belong to the GreenChill Partnership, a full 20 percent of the supermarket industry.
For the second consecutive year, Sprouts
Farmers Market received GreenChill’s Best Emissions Rate
Award for achieving the lowest corporate-wide emissions rate of all
GreenChill supermarket companies. The Best Emissions Rate Award is
the most prestigious of GreenChill's annual environmental
achievement awards.
Sprouts was also recognized with
GreenChill’s Best of the Best Award, given to the best new
GreenChill-certified store each year, for the company’s store
in the Westlake District of Thousand Oaks, California. The store
uses refrigeration technology that prevents at least 95% of the
harmful refrigerant emissions of a typical
supermarket.
“To achieve GreenChill’s award for
the best corporate-wide emissions rate and for the best certified
store in the nation is an incredible achievement,” said
Keilly Witman, Manager of EPA's GreenChill Partnership. “This
is the first time in the history of the Partnership that both
awards have gone to the same company.”
SUPERVALU, which operates Albertsons and
Hornbacher’s, earned a GreenChill award for achieving the
company’s challenging emissions reduction goal this past
year. Even though GreenChill partners achieve emission rates well
below national averages, all partners set ambitious,
tough-to-achieve annual goals to continually improve their
performance. Those who can accomplish this difficult task are
recognized with GreenChill’s Superior Goal Achievement
Award.
“SUPERVALU sought out every opportunity to
stop refrigerant leaks and achieve the company’s ambitious
voluntary emissions reduction goal,” said Witman. “The
employees should be very proud of their hard work, and their
customers can feel proud that their supermarkets take environmental
protection seriously.”
For the second time since the beginning of the
GreenChill Partnership, Whole Foods received the Most Improved
Emissions Rate Award. This award acknowledges the GreenChill
Partner with the most dramatic reduction in its corporate
refrigerant emissions rate from the previous year.
"Whole Foods’ efforts to stop refrigerant
leaks led to a 17% reduction in the company’s refrigerant
emissions rate in one year," said Witman. "Whole Foods’
efforts show that it is possible to make significant gains in
environmental protection in a short period of time when a company
prioritizes emissions reductions.”
Additional information on EPA’s GreenChill
Partnership is available at www.epa.gov/greenchill.
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Sprouts Farmers Market has stores in
Colorado:
Boulder, CO
Castle Rock, CO
Aurora, CO
Centennial, CO
Fort Collins, CO
Greeley, CO
Lone Tree, CO
Parker, CO
Westminster, CO
SUPERVALU operates under the Albertsons and
Hornbacher's banners in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah and
Wyoming:
Albertsons
1 store in Anaconda, MT
6 stores in Billing, MT
1 in Bozeman, MT
1 in Butte, MT
2 in Aurora, CO
4 in Colorado Springs, CO
2 in Denver, CO
1 in Durango, CO
1 in Thornton, CO
2 in Pueblo, CO
1 in Northglenn, CO
1 in Loveland, CO
1 in Louisville, CO
1 in Littleton, CO
2 in Grand Junction, CO
3 in Fort Collins, CO
1 in Centennial, CO
1 in Cut Bank, MT
1 in Glasgow, MT
1 in Glendive, MT
2 in Great Falls, MT
1 in Hamilton, MT
1 in Harlem, MT
2 in Helena, MT
1 in Kalispell, MT
1 in Williston, ND
2 in Casper, WY
2 in Cheyenne, WY
1 in Cody, WY
1 in Gillette, WY
1 in Jackson, WY
1 in Laramie, WY
1 in Rock Springs, WY
1 in Sheridan, WY
1 in Salt Lake City, UT
2 in Saint George, UT
1 in Tooele, UT
1 in Washington, UT
1 in West Valley City, UT
Hornbacher's
6 stores in Fargo, ND
Whole Foods in Colorado and
Utah:
3 in Boulder, CO
1 in Centennial, CO
2 in Colorado Springs, CO
4 in Denver, CO
1 in Fort Collins, CO
1 in Glendale, CO
1 in Golden, CO
1 in Lakewood, CO
1 in Superior, CO
1 in Westminster, CO
1 in Cottonwood Heights, UT
1 in Park City, UT
2 in Salt Lake City, UT
