Food Lion Only Grocer to Snag Eight EnergyStar Awards
Food Lion, LLC this month will receive an eighth EnergyStar award, the U.S. environmental Protection Agency's highest honor for energy management, making the company the only grocer to do so. The award presentation will take place March 31 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The EnergyStar Sustained Excellence Award is being awarded because of Food Lion's energy conservation efforts in 2008, as well as the company's year-over-year energy reduction achievements. Food Lion uses a variety of technologies and initiatives to save energy, among them capturing the heat expelled from the motors of its refrigeration cases and using it to warm the cold-food aisles and back-room areas, automating store lights (so lights are on only when necessary), retrofitting lighting fixtures and bulbs to boost a store’s lighting efficiency, and working with equipment manufacturers to increase the energy efficiency of equipment.
"Conserving energy is a longstanding operating strategy at Food Lion, LLC that not only benefits the environment, it [also] helps us keep our grocery prices low for consumers," explained Food Lion SVP of corporate development Robert Canipe. "We've taken such great strides to improve the energy-efficiency of our stores, in fact, that the 2.5 trillion BTUs we've cut since from our energy program since 2000 is the same amount of energy it takes to power 481 grocery stores. It's as if 481 stores, or 39 percent of our entire chain, use no energy at all."
Food Lion's energy reductions over the past year are the equivalent of lowering emissions by over 18 million pounds, planting 4,023 acres of trees, powering 1,323 American homes for a year, or taking 2,936 cars off the road, the company said.
According to the U.S. EPA, the 2009 Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of organizations that have shown outstanding leadership year after year, have received the EnergyStar Partner of the Year distinction for multiple years and have gone above and beyond the criteria needed to qualify for recognition. Food Lion has garnered Partner of the Year Awards for Excellence in Energy Management in 2002 and 2003, and Sustained Excellence Awards in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
"Food Lion's leadership on energy efficiency has yielded impressive results for their bottom line and our global environment, showing us all what can be accomplished through sustained commitment and action," noted Kathleen Hogan, director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at the U.S. EPA.
Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion, LLC, a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group, operates over 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's banners. In addition to being awarded its eighth consecutive EnergyStar award, the company has earned a total of 816 EnergyStar labels for its energy-efficient stores, recently received silver LEED certification for construction of its customer service center, and is a founding member of the U.S. EPA’s GreenChill advanced refrigeration partnership.
The EnergyStar Sustained Excellence Award is being awarded because of Food Lion's energy conservation efforts in 2008, as well as the company's year-over-year energy reduction achievements. Food Lion uses a variety of technologies and initiatives to save energy, among them capturing the heat expelled from the motors of its refrigeration cases and using it to warm the cold-food aisles and back-room areas, automating store lights (so lights are on only when necessary), retrofitting lighting fixtures and bulbs to boost a store’s lighting efficiency, and working with equipment manufacturers to increase the energy efficiency of equipment.
"Conserving energy is a longstanding operating strategy at Food Lion, LLC that not only benefits the environment, it [also] helps us keep our grocery prices low for consumers," explained Food Lion SVP of corporate development Robert Canipe. "We've taken such great strides to improve the energy-efficiency of our stores, in fact, that the 2.5 trillion BTUs we've cut since from our energy program since 2000 is the same amount of energy it takes to power 481 grocery stores. It's as if 481 stores, or 39 percent of our entire chain, use no energy at all."
Food Lion's energy reductions over the past year are the equivalent of lowering emissions by over 18 million pounds, planting 4,023 acres of trees, powering 1,323 American homes for a year, or taking 2,936 cars off the road, the company said.
According to the U.S. EPA, the 2009 Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of organizations that have shown outstanding leadership year after year, have received the EnergyStar Partner of the Year distinction for multiple years and have gone above and beyond the criteria needed to qualify for recognition. Food Lion has garnered Partner of the Year Awards for Excellence in Energy Management in 2002 and 2003, and Sustained Excellence Awards in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
"Food Lion's leadership on energy efficiency has yielded impressive results for their bottom line and our global environment, showing us all what can be accomplished through sustained commitment and action," noted Kathleen Hogan, director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at the U.S. EPA.
Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion, LLC, a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group, operates over 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's banners. In addition to being awarded its eighth consecutive EnergyStar award, the company has earned a total of 816 EnergyStar labels for its energy-efficient stores, recently received silver LEED certification for construction of its customer service center, and is a founding member of the U.S. EPA’s GreenChill advanced refrigeration partnership.