by Brianna Crandall — September 8, 2014—The Green Building Initiative (GBI) recently announced a wave of Green Globes certifications for a number of new grocery store chains across the nation. The properties include New Seasons Markets in Oregon, and Whole Foods, Price Chopper, Aldi’s, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and Publix stores across the country.
New Seasons director of construction and facilities Wayne Pipes said Green Globes certification helps validate the company’s sustainability story. “We were the first B-Corp grocer in the world—sustainability is part of our DNA,” Pipes said. “We’re classified a Zero-Waste company, and using less energy is part of who we are. Green Globes help make our mission clear throughout the community at large as we continue to grow.”
“Grocers’ need for refrigeration make energy-efficient construction and operations especially critical, both from an environmental and an economic standpoint,” said Jerry Yudelson, president of Green Building Initiative. “Green Globes is ideal for retail environments because of its integration with the ENERGY STAR program—which includes supermarkets as a building occupancy category—and because it accommodates different building scenarios by not applying penalties for features that aren’t applicable.”
To date, nearly 50 Whole Foods stores have been certified or are now in the Green Globes process. In 2013 Whole Foods expanded its sustainability efforts by taking its first existing building through Green Globes, a store in the Hollywood district of Portland, Oregon, which earned a Three Green Globes Rating.
“If you’re looking for ways to reduce your building footprint or wondering where your facility stands on the green spectrum, this [Green Globes] process has a lot of merit,” Whole Foods Pacific Northwest Region construction manager Bob Gordon said. “The comprehensive evaluation looked at both how the building was built and is operated. It will help us piece together a preventative maintenance program for the whole region. In the long term, the Green Globes suggestions save money and enhance the facility.”
The Green Globes certification process also incorporates the EPA’s GreenChill Store Certification Program for Food Retailers, which recognizes individual stores for using environmentally friendlier commercial refrigeration systems, and can achieve certification under GreenChill itself.
