Aldi Honored for Environmental Moves
In recognition of its continuing commitment to lower overall environmental impact, Aldi has received from the Environmental Protection Agency the 2020 Green Power Leadership Award and a 2019 GreenChill Store Certification, in addition to a Re-Certification Excellence Award for some of its stores.
“We are proud to receive these honorable recognitions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Aaron Sumida, VP of Batavia, Illinois-based Aldi U.S. “As one of America’s largest retailers, it’s important for Aldi to prioritize our adoption of green power usage across our operations, showing others that it’s an affordable, accessible choice that can help reduce air pollution and other emissions. We look forward to continuing our sustainability journey by taking intentional and strategic steps to make our stores and warehouses more environmentally friendly.”
The annual Green Power Leadership Awards are part of the EPA’s Green Power Partner recognition program that honors green power users for helping advance the development of the United States voluntary green power market. Aldi was one of just four organizations nationwide to receive an Excellence in Green Power Use Award for its dedication to significantly furthering the U.S. renewable-energy market.
Aldi currently buys more than 980 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet more than 100% of its electricity use. The deep-discount grocer is No. 16 on EPA’s National Top 100 list of participating companies, No. 3 on the Top 30 Retail list and No. 15 on the Top 30 On-site rewewables list. Each ranking shows the EPA Green Power Partners using the most renewable electricity annually as of July 2020.
The EPA’s GreenChill Partnership, meanwhile helps supermarkets transition to environmentally friendlier refrigerants, lower harmful refrigerant emissions, and implement greener refrigeration technologies and environmental best practices. Aldi garnered a Store Certification Excellence award for achieving the most GreenChill store certifications in the past year, along with a Store Re-Certification Excellence award in some stores in New York for renewing GreenChill store certifications for five consecutive years. As of December 2019, Aldi operates more than 300 GreenChill-certified stores across the United States, all of which received platinum ratings, the program’s highest designation.
“For the second year in a row, Aldi has demonstrated their exceptional leadership in food retail refrigerant management,” noted Kirsten Cappel, GreenChill program manager. “In this annual recognition cycle, Aldi certified 331 stores all at the Platinum level – the highest possible certification. This achievement exemplifies the Aldi commitment to sustainable refrigeration management and the use of advanced refrigeration technologies that are better for the environment.”
“Aldi has prioritized its people, its communities and the environment since day one,” added Sumida. “We are dedicated to reducing our overall environmental impact. From recycling and using solar power to building environmentally friendly warehouses and stores, Aldi is committed to being a more sustainable business.”
As part of a $5 billion-plus capital investment in new and remodeled stores across the country, Aldi is beefing up its renewable-energy building elements, including preference for energy-saving LED lighting, energy-efficient refrigerated systems and rooftop solar systems on 12 warehouses and 108 stores, with more installations to come.
With more than 2,000 stores across 36 states, Aldi U.S. is No. 26 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food retailers in North America. The retailer is on track to become the third-largest grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022.
