Salisbury, N.C. — Food Lion has once again earned recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its ongoing efforts to reduce refrigerant emissions across its footprint. This recognition comes from the GreenChill Program, an EPA partnership with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the ozone layer and climate change.
Food Lion received two recognitions including the Superior Goal Achievement for the seventh time and, for the first time, the Exceptional Goal Achievement. The Superior Goal Achievement honor is the result of Food Lion achieving its goal to reduce environmental impacts of commercial refrigeration systems across the retailer’s more than 1,100 stores. During refrigerant conversions, the omnichannel retailer converted from high ozone depleting potential and global warming potential refrigerants to zero-ozone depleting potential and low global warming potential refrigerants in its refrigeration systems. The Exceptional Goal Achievement honor results from Food Lion exceeding its refrigerant emissions reduction goal.
As part of its commitment to caring for its neighbors and the planet, Food Lion has consistently set and achieved many sustainability goals. Among these sustainability goals, Food Lion aims to reduce carbon emissions across its operations by 50% by 2030 and reach net-zero for operations by 2040.
“Our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint in the towns and cities we serve remains a top priority,” says Matt Yates, vice president, brand strategy, Food Lion. “Our neighbors are counting on us, and the continued recognition by GreenChill reaffirms that we are delivering on our promise to reduce our environmental impact and continuing to deliver on our sustainability goals year after year.”
Since 2018, Food Lion has reduced carbon emissions by 19% while making financial investments to enhance operational efficiencies. This has had a significant environmental impact, equivalent to 73,042 homes’ electricity use for 1 year, 14,227,837 incandescent lightbulbs to LED and the carbon sequestered by 6,207,189 tree seedlings grown for 10 years. Notably, Food Lion is the only company in the country to be named by the EPA as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 22 consecutive years for its reduction in energy consumption.
Food Lion has also set industry-leading sustainable sourcing standards, increased recycling to divert more waste from landfills and has helped to provide more than 1 billion meals to individuals and families since 2014 through its pioneering hunger-relief platform, Food Lion Feeds.
Food Lion is an omnichannel retailer with 1,100+ stores throughout 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. Founded and based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com.
For more information on EPA’s GreenChill Program, visit www.epa.gov/greenchill.
SOURCE: Food Lion