New Stop & Shop site receives first EPA Energy Star certification

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. has its first U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star certified store. The energy Star label is given to buildings that display superior energy efficiency. Energy Star-certified buildings use about 35% less energy than average buildings. Stop & Shop, along with its sister company Giant of Landover, MD, also has its focus on earning the prestigious designation of Energy Star Leader for its entire portfolio of stores. "By taking proactive steps to improve energy efficiency, Stop & Shop is cutting costs, reducing harmful emissions to the air and setting an example for other companies," said Robert Varney, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. The organization has been working for some time to create environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient stores, according to Jihad Rizkallah, Stop & Shop's vice president of design and engineering. Major efforts to construct such stores began in 1999 with the design of the low-energy Stop & Shop Superstore in Foxboro, Mass., which opened in 2001. Since then, the company has opened 94 stores incorporating many of the concepts tested in the Foxboro store, which continues to be the basis of today's store design. Built in 2005, the Southbury store features many energy-efficient attributes, which have reduced the facility's electrical load by 28% compared to similar stores built in 2000. Examples include skylights over the sales floor that provide natural light during the day and allow for the highly efficient T5 fluorescent lighting system to be dimmed automatically by a energy management system. Store back rooms and office areas are equipped with occupancy sensors, which turn the lights off when these spaces are unoccupied. The refrigeration systems utilize high-efficiency fan motors, variable-speed compressors, low-energy glass doors and non-ozone depleting refrigerant. Heat from the refrigeration system, which would otherwise be wasted, is reclaimed and utilized to heat the sales floor and the water used in the restrooms and prep areas. "While we are delighted to recognize Stop &Shop for its first Energy Star store, we are even more pleased about Stop & Shop's commitment to reduce energy across all their stores. The company has evaluated the energy performance of their entire portfolio of stores and is in the process of completing the final approval steps to be designated as an Energy Star leader reserved only for companies that make organization-wide achievements. Such recognition from EPA is not easy to earn," said Jean Lupinacci, EPA director of Energy Star's commercial and industrial branch.