Case Study: Stop & Shop Earns LEED Portfolio Volume Certification for Entire Chain

By Jihad Rizkallah
VP Design & Engineering
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC

Project Background

Stop & Shop’s dedication to corporate responsibility is based on its commitment to build a more sustainable future as a model in the supermarket industry. Based in Quincy, MA, Stop & Shop and sister company, Giant Food, have 558 stores in ten states and the District of Colombia, employ more than 82,000 associates, and have an estimated 465 million transactions in a year, excluding gasoline and pharmacy sales. This reach provides a unique opportunity to set an example for and inspire behavior changes in associates, customers, and suppliers. “Living green’ to Stop & Shop means being environmentally smart. To be profitable in the long term, the company understands that it must be a responsible partner to the communities and customers it serves and the associates it employs.

Stop & Shop began in earnest its journey in energy conservation and environmental responsibility in 1999 when it faced a 17% jump in electricity prices and a highly volatile natural gas market, along with an increased understanding of their operations’ contribution to ozone layer depletion. To help them address their commitment to conserve energy and be more environmentally responsible, they teamed with the renowned Rocky Mountain Institute to brainstorm on how they could design a new generation of efficient stores that continued to provide a positive shopping experience for customers. As a result, they piloted their first major energy efficiency innovation, opening a Stop & Shop prototype store called a Low Energy Superstore (LESS) in 2001. Located in Foxboro, Massachusetts, the store was designed to use almost a third less electricity than traditional supermarkets and included a number of sustainable design features. The success of this store was demonstrated by annual savings of 8,000,000 kWh, which eliminates emissions of 987 tons of carbon dioxide annually — equivalent to leaving in the ground 374 tons of coal or 650 barrels of oil each year.

From Leaders to LEED

Since then, Stop & Shop has moved steadily forward in designing, developing, and adopting programs and systems that speak to the company’s dedication to environmental stewardship.

For example, Stop & Shop and its sister company, Giant Food, were named an ENERGY STAR Leader by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the superior energy performance of their supermarkets with an average rating of 90 (out of possible 100) across a portfolio of 552 buildings. In 2007, Stop & Shop was the only company in New England, and the only supermarket chain in the country to earn the EPA Energy Star Leaders recognition. The highest Leaders recognition identifies those organizations with portfolios that perform in the top 25 percent of energy efficiency based upon the average of the buildings in the portfolio.

Aware that energy performance was only one — albeit a critical — aspect of a high performance building, Stop & Shop continued to explore ways to further reduce the environmental impact of their stores. From the beginning Stop & Shop understood that the company needed to comprehensively address its environmental impacts with standardized environmental programs and systems in its over 550 existing stores. The USGBC’s LEED© green building certification process, as a nationally recognized system, appealed to Stop & Shop, as did the Portfolio Volume Certification pilot. The switch from single-building certifications to a volume perspective was critical to Stop & Shop with its over 100 stores built on prototype designs. By allowing it to integrate the LEED into a portfolio of existing buildings, Stop & Shop could pursue LEED certification in a cost effective way without sacrificing the technical rigor and integrity of LEED.

Stop & Shop, which was the only supermarket chain in the country to have been selected to participate in the Portfolio Volume Certification pilot, worked closely with the USGBC in 2007 and early 2008. To measure the benefits of their practices, Stop & Shop and its consultants, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., prepared documentation for 51 portfolio supermarkets — some 3.4 million square feet of buildings in five states. The team then evaluated facilities and operations data including landscaping, parking, recycling, energy management, plumbing flow rates, non-toxic materials usage, and other stewardship-related issues.

Strategies

Operating 558 stores covering more than 33 million square feet makes energy efficiency and conservation a priority for Stop & Shop. Beginning in 2002, all of Stop & Shop’s new stores have white reflective roof membranes that reduce solar heat gain and, therefore, the demand for air conditioning. High efficiency rooftop HVAC equipment results in other decreases in electricity consumption. Inside LEED portfolio stores, energy loads are further reduced through occupancy sensors controlled by state-of-the-art energy management systems, low-mercury T-5 and T-8 fluorescent lamps, daylight harvesting by numerous skylights, and large windows. These also contribute to a more pleasant atmosphere for workers and shoppers throughout the store spaces.

In a typical supermarket, refrigeration is accomplished through a conventional vapor compression condensing system that compensates for changes in ambient temperatures and humidity. Stop & Shop’s advanced refrigeration more accurately matches the specific refrigeration needs of products in different display cases while, at the same time, minimizing energy consumption. This flexibility is accomplished through electronic temperature sensors installed throughout the display cases that feed information to controllers that manage the compressors and the remote air-cooled condenser fan motors. High-efficiency evaporators and fan motors installed in display cases require less refrigeration and electrical load compared to standard case technology. Energy-saving glass doors, light diffusers, and low-energy anti-sweat heaters on glass freezer cases further reduce electric loads.

The energy efficient lighting systems installed in the stores have a secondary benefit of generating less heat, thereby reducing the cooling energy consumption of the store’s air-conditioning equipment. Much of the space heating requirements of the store are satisfied by reclaiming waste heat from the store’s refrigeration systems. In the cooling season, the waste heat is used as part of the humidity control strategy to avoid over-cooling the store when the air-conditioning equipment is running in a dehumidification mode. It is also used year-round to provide heat for domestic hot water.

Air quality is also protected through the use of non-toxic, low- or no-VOC materials like paints, sealants, and adhesives in store interiors. Similarly, stores employ policies for green cleaning practices with non-toxic materials.

Stop & Shop proactively channels solid waste in a number of their Massachusetts stores into composting, and in all stores practices separation and recycling of plastic, cardboard, and paper products. Over 50 percent of the facility waste is recycled, including packaging, crates, and containers. Plastic bags are diverted from landfills and neighborhood streets by offering recycling for plastic grocery bags and incentives for bringing paper, plastic, or fabric bags from home to package customers’ groceries.

Outside Stop & Shop stores, site landscaping limits the use of non-native species that require frequent watering, resulting in near elimination of irrigation systems. A sophisticated storm water management system was created to collect and filter runoff to reduce loads on local storm drains and encourage local water table recharge. Similar conservation measures were implemented indoors, as well, where the restrooms and other facilities include low-flow plumbing fixtures.

Looking to the Future

Going through the LEED certification process for the first time, while simultaneously working with USGBC on a new approach to building certification under a pilot program were both challenging undertakings. The Portfolio Volume Certification process was still under development and unique design and operations considerations added to the intricacies of working with the LEED for Existing Building rating system. Stop & Shop already had a large number of best practices and their documentation did not always mesh cleanly with LEED for Existing Building requirements. Although finding a balance in the appropriate level of documentation for the volume certification process (while recognizing that the pilot sets precedents for later certifications) was hard, it saved time and money over doing each store separately.

In April 2008, Stop & Shop was awarded LEED certification. This achievement distinguished Stop & Shop not only as the first supermarket chain, but also the first company in the country earning Volume Certification under the Portfolio Program. Fifty-one existing stores, and close to 3.4 million square feet of stores met the green and sustainable criteria of the USGBC.

“The LEED pilot gave Stop & Shop, as well as other building owners, critical insights into best management practices that can be instituted across the board with both other existing buildings and new facilities. We are tremendously proud to have achieved LEED Portfolio Volume certification. This achievement is proof to our customers, our associates, our suppliers and the communities in which we do business of our commitment to leading the industry in green and energy efficient operations and buildings, ” stated Jihad Rizkallah, Vice President of Design and Engineering for The Stop & Shop Companies.

Jihad Rizkallah is the Vice President of Design & Engineering at The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC. He is responsible for the design of all new stores and remodels, and in 2007 oversaw the company’s LEED-EB certification process. Jihad is also an active member of the Corporate Responsibility committee at Stop & Shop and sister company, Giant Food. He can be reached at jrizkall@stopandshop.com.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Green Building Council http://www.usgbc.org is the nation’s leading coalition for the advancement of buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Established in 1993, the Council offers various products and services to include the LEED Green Building Rating System, an annual International Green Building Conference and Exposition, membership summits, information exchange, education, and policy advocacy.

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