GreenChill Partnership Reaches All 50 States (HQ)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA’s) GreenChill partnership now has 7,000
partner stores located in all 50 states. From regional grocers like
Stater Bros. in southern California, and small health food stores
like Down-to-Earth, to nationally-recognized names like Whole Foods
and the newest partner Target Corporation, the partnership now
represents 20 percent of the supermarket industry.
GreenChill’s food retailers are reducing pollution from
commercial refrigeration, decreasing their impact on the ozone
layer and protecting people’s health. Protecting the ozone
layer protects people from too much ultraviolet radiation, which
can lead to skin cancer and cataracts.
“GreenChill is a great example of how businesses and
government can work together to protect people’s health and
the environment,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator
for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “GreenChill
capitalizes on industry’s drive for innovation by providing a
forum for technology advances and financial savings.”
EPA estimates that GreenChill partners’ refrigerant emissions
are 50 percent lower than the industry average. If every
supermarket in the nation reduced their emissions to the average
GreenChill store rate of 12 percent, the industry would save more
than $100 million in refrigerant costs alone annually, while saving
the equivalent of 22 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and 240
tons of ozone-depleting substances every year. The greenhouse gas
pollution from an average store’s refrigerant leaks is often
higher than the greenhouse gas pollution from an average
store’s annual total electricity consumption.
EPA launched the GreenChill program in 2007, as a way to partner
with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions, greenhouse gas
pollution and decrease their overall impact on the ozone layer. The
partnership works with food retailers to transition to more
environmentally friendly refrigerants, reduce the amount of
refrigerant used in stores, and eliminate harmful refrigerant
leaks.
More information on EPA’s GreenChill Partnership: https://www.epa.gov/greenchill