BALTIMORE, MD. – Today, in a ceremony at the FMI – The Food Industry Association’s Energy and Store Development Conference, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill Program recognized 12 food retail companies and one manufacturer of advanced refrigeration systems for their exceptional achievements to reduce the use of ozone-depleting substances and/or climate-damaging refrigerants.

“Participants in the GreenChill Partnership and Store Certification Programs have been leading the industry in environmentally friendly refrigeration practices, and EPA annually honors their achievements at both the corporate and individual store certification level,” said Paul Gunning, Director of EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Protection. “These companies’ efforts show that it is possible to keep food cool while protecting our Earth’s ozone layer and climate system by setting and achieving ambitious goals year after year.”

GreenChill Partners commit to reducing refrigerant emissions and decreasing their impact on the environment. On average, GreenChill food retailers maintain emissions rates that are approximately half the industry average, resulting in a significant benefit to the environment. Over the past 16 years, GreenChill Partners have avoided emissions of around 599 metric tons of ozone-depleting substances and almost 110 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. This is roughly equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from consuming over 12 billion gallons of gasoline. 

This year, EPA is proud to recognize the following GreenChill Partner companies: 

Best Emissions Rate 

Ashland Food Co-Op (Ashland, Ore.)  Meijer (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 

Most Improved Emissions Rate 

Brookshire Grocery Company (Tyler, Texas) 

Superior Goal Achievement  

Ashland Food Co-Op (Ashland, Ore.)  Brookshire Grocery Company (Tyler, Texas)  Food Lion (Salisbury, N.C.)  The GIANT Company (Carlisle, Pa.)  Hannaford (Scarborough, Maine)  King Kullen (Bethpage, N.Y.)  Weis Markets (Sunbury, Pa.) 

Exceptional Goal Achievement 

Ashland Food Co-Op (Ashland, Ore.)  Food Lion (Salisbury, N.C.) 

GreenChill’s Store Certification Program recognized stores for meeting strict performance criteria including refrigeration systems with minimal potential impacts on the ozone layer and climate system. This year’s GreenChill Store Certification recognitions honor: 

Store Leadership 

Kwik Trip in La Crosse, Wis., is being honored as the first convenience store to receive a GreenChill Certification.  

Store Certification Excellence  

ALDI (Batavia, Ill.) earned recognition for certifying 628 GreenChill Certified Stores over the past year, more stores than any supermarket chain has previously achieved, all of which were at the highest Platinum-Level Certification.  Hillphoenix (Conyers, Ga.) achieved this recognition for the 11th consecutive year as the commercial systems manufacturer with the most systems installed in GreenChill Certified Stores in the last year.  

Store Recertification Excellence 

ALDI – A total of 109 locations across California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin achieved GreenChill Store Certification for five consecutive years.  Hannaford – The Turner, Maine, store achieved GreenChill Store Certification for 10 consecutive years.  Meijer – The Marysville, Ohio, store achieved GreenChill Store Certification for five consecutive years.  Publix Super Markets – Five locations in Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina achieved five-year recertifications.   Target – Two stores in Florida and Illinois achieved GreenChill Store Certification for five consecutive years.  Weis Markets – The Danville, Pennsylvania, store achieved GreenChill Store Certification for five consecutive years. 

About the GreenChill Program 

GreenChill’s Partnership is a voluntary program for food retailers committed to leading the transition out of ozone-depleting refrigerants, reducing refrigerant emissions, and adopting improved refrigeration management practices and technologies. The goals of the GreenChill Partnership are to provide food retailers and other industry stakeholders with information and assistance to transition to environmentally friendlier refrigerants, lower refrigerant charge sizes, eliminate refrigerant leaks, implement best environmental practices, and adopt green refrigeration technologies.  

Since GreenChill launched in 2007, many food retailers have joined the Corporate Emissions Reduction Program (the Partnership) with the number of stores nearly tripling from 4,500 to more than 13,000 stores today in all 50 states. The Partnership represents more than one-third of the U.S. food retail industry.

GreenChill’s Store Certification Program for food retailers continues to grow. In 2022, there were nearly 900 GreenChill Certified Stores throughout the nation. Since it began in 2008, the GreenChill Store Certification Program has issued more than 4,400 annual certifications to over 1,300 individual stores.  

Learn more about GreenChill and today’s recognition recipients.  

ATLANTA (October 3, 2023) — On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a press event highlighting two milestones in the cleanup of the Westside Superfund Site, including an investment of $30 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funds to advance the cleanup and the graduation of 20 local residents who have completed the Superfund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI) program.

WHAT:          

Press event to highlight Westside Superfund Site cleanup progress and job training graduates

WHEN AND WHERE:         

Thursday, October 5, 2023

5:15 – 5:30 p.m. EST – Meet at the site of a property that has recently been cleaned up where reporters will have an opportunity to take photos and ask questions

719 Cameron Madison Alexander Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

5:45 – 7:30 p.m. EST – SuperJTI graduation

New Life Covenant Church, 575 Travis St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

Reporters will have an opportunity to interview graduates before the 6 p.m. ceremony start

WHO:           

EPA Acting Regional Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle

Caroline Freeman, EPA Region 4 Superfund and Emergency Management Division Director

Alexis Rourk Reyes, EPA Superfund Redevelopment Program Manager

Atlanta Councilman Byron Amos (District 3)

Ebony Ford, Director, Corporate and Community Engagement, Quest CDC

Tamikia Shumpert, Housing Case Manage, Quest CDC

Rosemerry Redd, Director of Workforce Readiness, Integrity CDC

Pastor Timothy Rodgers, New Life Covenant Church

*** Interested media must RSVP via email to region4press@epa.gov to confirm your participation by COB Wednesday, October 4, 2023.