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Two Major Supermarket Chains in New England Join EPA's GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership

Release Date: 01/28/2008
Contact Information: Dave Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. - Jan. 28, 2008) - Two supermarket chains that are either based in or with a major presence in New England have joined with EPA to show that protecting the stratospheric ozone layer is cool -- literally.

The two supermarket chains, Hannaford Brothers (based near Portland, Maine and with more than 160 stores throughout the New England region) and Whole Foods (with more than two dozen stores in New England states) have joined EPA's GreenChill Partnership.

EPA and the supermarket, refrigeration equipment and chemical refrigerant industries launched the new GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership - a voluntary program to promote green technologies, strategies, and practices that protect the stratospheric ozone layer, reduce greenhouse gases, and save money.

Whole Foods and Hannaford Brothers are two of the ten founding partners nationwide who have pledged to go above and beyond regulatory requirements by establishing an inventory of current refrigerant emissions that may affect climate change and the stratospheric ozone layer, and then setting reduction targets for these emissions. Partners will also participate in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of cutting edge "green" technologies in terms of energy efficiency, reduction of ozone-depleting refrigerant charges, and minimization of refrigerant leaks.

As an example of GreenChill Partnership initiatives that decrease the impact of supermarkets on climate change, EPA estimates that widespread adoption of advanced refrigeration technologies, best practices, and improved equipment design and service could reduce refrigerant emissions by one million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year, the equivalent of taking 800,000 automobiles off the road every year.

To counteract the depletion of stratospheric ozone, which protects earth's citizens from the sun's ultraviolet radiation, partners guarantee to use only ozone-friendly alternatives and advanced refrigeration techologies in all new and remodeled stores.

EPA believes that GreenChill partners' adoption of advanced refrigeration technologies will lead to increased energy efficiency and reduce operating expenses to the industry by over $12 million annually.

More information: EPA GreenChill Partnership https://www.epa.gov/ozone/partnerships/greenchill