Food Lion Earns 7 Energy Star Awards
EPA recognized Food Lion LLC of Salisbury, N.C., with a seventh Energy Star award, the most awards ever received by a grocer. The award, for sustained excellence, will be presented to the company April 1 during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
"Food Lion is dedicated to identifying ways we can protect the environment and conserve energy while meeting business objectives," said Kyle Mitchell, Food Lion vice president of store development. "While energy conservation has become a focus for many companies in recent years, our energy conservation strategy at Food Lion LLC is now more than a decade old. We're proud to receive this Sustained Excellence Award because it shows that our program continues to be one of the strongest in the country."
According to the EPA, the 2008 Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding leadership year after year. These winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, employing innovative approaches and showing others what can be achieved through energy efficiency.
Food Lion LLC uses demand control systems (to prioritize how energy should be used during peak times, especially during hot summer months), heat reclaim, lighting automation (so lights are on only when necessary), and lighting retrofits (to increase the efficiency of fixtures and bulbs). The company also works with refrigeration vendors to increase energy efficiency of equipment.
Commercial buildings that earn the Energy Star use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Based on EPA calculations, each of Food Lion's Energy Star stores saves as much as 86,000 kWh per year -- enough to power nine American homes for an entire year. The energy savings at each store also prevent 190,920 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year.