Brunswick, Me. — Eighty-four Sprouts Farmers Market grocery stores in Texas, Colorado, Utah and Arizona have been awarded Manomet’s Grocery Stewardship Certification (GSC). The GSC recognizes Sprouts’ commitment to operational best practices that reduce a store’s environmental impact and save resources. The certification is the latest sustainability milestone for Sprouts, one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country.
“Sustainability is at the very core of the Sprouts culture and is embedded in everything we do,” says Carlos Rojas, vice president – legal, risk & sustainability, Sprouts Farmers Market. “It makes business sense, but more importantly, it’s the right thing to do.”
“Sprouts Farmers Market is showing every day that running a sustainability-focused company goes hand-in-hand with profits and growth,” adds Peter Cooke, program manager of Manomet’s grocery program. “Sprouts is going above and beyond in their mission to become more sustainable. We are pleased to recognize Sprouts Farmers Market for their environmental leadership and look forward to working with them as they continue their journey and expand into new markets.”
Manomet’s GSC provides participating independent grocers and grocery chains with data about costs saved through operational sustainability efforts; revenue-generating sustainability opportunities; employee engagement strategies; and metrics on waste, water, energy and other conservation initiatives. As a result of their sustainable operating practices, the eighty-four Sprouts Farmers Market stores enrolled in the GSC are annually saving:
- More than $6 million, an average of $76,000 per store;
- More than 5,700 tons of food waste from going to landfills;
- More than 23,157,000 million gallons of water from being used; and
- More than 75,200 metric tons of greenhouse gases from being released.
Since launching in 2012, the GSC has enrolled more than 800 grocery stores in the United States and Canada. The GSC works with grocers to engage employees on operational sustainability strategies and to review store-level practices and equipment with an eye to increasing energy efficiency, boosting revenue and lowering costs. While there are a number of programs that focus on high performance buildings, Manomet’s GSC program is the only certification program to expand into employee practices and procedures to engage all stores within a chain. To learn more about the Grocery Stewardship Certification program, visit http://grocerycert.org/.
Manomet is a nonprofit organization that builds science-based, cooperative solutions to environmental problems. For more information, visit www.manomet.org.
SOURCE: Manomet