EPA’s GreenChill Program Celebrates Smart Refrigerant Management Across the Supermarket Industry Winners in EPA Region 2
NEW YORK – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership announced 22 awards to nine supermarket industry organizations and one advanced refrigeration system manufacturer for exceptional achievements to reduce the impacts of commercial refrigeration systems on the environment in 2019.
“We congratulate the awardees for their significant accomplishments in reducing the impact of commercial refrigeration systems,” said Anne L. Austin, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “These organizations are leading the way in both the use of advanced refrigeration technologies and the prevention of refrigeration leaks. Reducing refrigerant emissions protects the environment and helps stores save money at the same time, a benefit that can be passed on to their customers.”
GreenChill Partners in the food retail industry demonstrate a commitment to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the environment. On average, GreenChill Partners maintain corporate-wide emissions rates that are approximately half the industry average. EPA thanks all Partners for leading the industry in environmentally friendly refrigeration systems.
EPA recognized GreenChill Partners in the following categories:
Best Corporate Emissions Rate
Price Chopper (Schenectady, N.Y.)
Cook County Whole Foods Co-op (Grand Marais, Minn.),
Most Improved Emissions Rate
Price Chopper (Schenectady, N.Y.)
Goal Achievement
Meijer (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Price Chopper (Schenectady, N.Y.)
Weis Markets (Sunbury, Pa.)
Whole Foods Market (Austin, TX)
Superior Goal Achievement
Weis Markets (Sunbury, Pa.)
GreenChill’s Store Certification Program recognized certain stores for meeting strict performance criteria that demonstrate their refrigeration systems have minimal impacts on the ozone layer and climate system. GreenChill presented the following store certification recognitions:
Best of the Best
The Meijer store on Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Mich. was honored as the “Best of the Best” – the best certified store among all GreenChill certified stores this cycle – for achieving the highest estimated annual avoided emissions from its refrigeration systems.
Store Certification Excellence
ALDI (Batavia, Ill.) earned recognition for achieving more GreenChill store certifications than their peers over the past year. ALDI certified more stores than any supermarket chain has previously, all at the highest platinum-level. Hillphoenix (Conyers, Ga.) achieved this recognition for the ninth consecutive year as the commercial systems manufacturer with the most systems installed in GreenChill certified stores in the last year.
Store Re-Certification
Eleven stores were recognized for achieving GreenChill certification for five consecutive years. Store winners include: ALDI locations in Carthage, N.Y. and Webster, N.Y.; Food Lion in Southport, N.C.; and Hannaford in North Berwick, Maine. Sprouts Farmers Market received this honor for seven stores: Hurst, Texas; Oakland, Calif.; San Rafael, Calif.; What Ridge, Colo.; Roswell, Ga., Marietta; Ga., and Germantown, Tenn.
About GreenChill
GreenChill is a voluntary partnership program that works cooperatively with the food retail industry to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the environment. Leaky systems can come at a high price, requiring retailers to pay for replacement refrigerant, system maintenance, and repairs. Reducing leaks is also beneficial to the environment, as some refrigerants deplete the stratospheric ozone layer and are potent greenhouse gases. In addition to reducing leaks, GreenChill participants are transitioning to environmentally friendlier refrigerants and adopting advanced refrigeration technologies.
Participation in the Corporate Emissions Reduction Program (the Partnership) has grown significantly since the program launched in 2007. The number of stores included in the Partnership has nearly tripled from 4,500 to 12,600; in 2019, the Partnership represented more than 30 percent of the U.S. food retail industry. On average, GreenChill Partners maintain corporate-wide emissions rates that are approximately half the industry average.
Participation in GreenChill’s Store Certification Program for Food Retailers also continues to grow. In 2019, there were nearly 600 GreenChill certified stores throughout the nation, a 56 percent increase from 2018. From the beginning of the program in 2008 through 2019, the GreenChill Store Certification Program has issued more than 1,800 certifications to over 830 individual stores.
EPA recognizes the role of our nation’s supermarket industry and the many essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic that worked tirelessly to serve the public while keeping stores a safe environment for everyone.
Learn more about GreenChill and today’s recognition recipients: www.epa.gov/greenchill.
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