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Frozen Aisle: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Our investments in improved refrigeration and air conditioning systems in our stores have reduced energy usage, saving us the following:

• 29,000 kilowatt-hours saved annually per store by using high-efficiency fan motors in back room freezers.
  
• Up to 136,000 kilowatt-hours saved annually per store by putting doors on traditionally open refrigerated cases.

We will continue to improve our efforts by testing more high-efficiency fan motors and exploring more environmentally friendly refrigerants.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill program works to help food retailers lower refrigerant charge sizes, eliminate leaks, transition to environmentally friendlier refrigerants, and adopt green refrigeration technologies and best environmental practices. The partnership has three main programs that help food retailers reduce their refrigerant emissions: the Food Retailer Corporate Emissions Reduction Program, the Store Certification Program for Advanced Refrigeration, and the Advanced Refrigeration Promotion Program. As of August 2017, we have 50 stores that have achieved Silver GreenChill certifications and two stores (North Venice, FL and Cary, NC) that have received Gold GreenChill certifications. These stores earned the Gold-certified store distinction thanks to their use of carbon dioxide as a natural refrigerant.

As the technology matures, we will continue to incorporate new methods to achieve our goals of increasing energy efficiency and further reducing emissions of ozone-depleting refrigerants.

Did you know? We’ve made our own hot water since the late ’70s by capturing waste heat generated from our refrigeration systems.