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Food Lion LLC Unveils Ozone-Friendly Refrigeration Technology, Announces ENERGY STAR Milestone

Posted on: Thursday, 22 May 2008, 11:53 CDT

Food Lion LLC today unveiled the nation's first grocery store to incorporate two ozone-friendly product refrigeration systems. Both systems reduce by more then 60 percent the amount of refrigerants needed to keep products cool or frozen.

"This is a significant step forward in our decade-old journey of environmentally friendly operations," said Kyle Mitchell, Food Lion LLC vice president of store development. "We're proud to be a leader in testing and incorporating advanced refrigeration technologies the same way we've lead the grocery industry in energy conservation strategies. Our goal is to make insightful operating choices today to protect the environment and sustain the communities in which we operate for years to come."

During the event, attended by EPA officials and grocery peers, Food Lion demonstrated the refrigeration system features, discussed energy efficient store technologies and unveiled a new biodiesel generator designed to run off cooking oils, such as those used by the store's Deli. Food Lion uses generators to help ease the demand experienced by local utilities during peak operations, such as on extremely hot days when commercial and residential air conditioners are running at their highest capacities.

Also during the event, Food Lion LLC announced that its 725th store has earned the rigorous and prestigious ENERGY STAR(R) designation for superior energy performance and management. The ENERGY STAR label helps consumers recognize stores that meet U.S. EPA standards for energy efficiency. Food Lion LLC owns more than half of the country's roughly 1,300 ENERGY STAR labeled grocery stores. The 725th ENERGY STAR store is located in Chesapeake, Va. Food Lion LLC is working to earn more than 100 ENERGY STAR labels this year in order to bring its total number of ENERGY STAR stores to 800.

Food Lion has been on the leading edge of companies - grocery stores and otherwise - putting in place measures and initiatives that reduce emissions of ozone-depleting refrigerants, test refrigeration technologies, conserve energy and support environmental sustainability.

The Portsmouth, Va., store is Food Lion's third store to use advanced refrigeration technologies - and the first to incorporate two of these systems simultaneously. The first store, in Dinwiddie, Va., opened in early 2006 with a medium temperature secondary coolant system that uses water and glycol to refrigerate products. The second store, which opened in late 2006 in Montpelier, Va., uses a low secondary coolant temperature system featuring carbon dioxide (CO2) (a naturally occurring gas) to refrigerate low-temperature food products. Both systems were created with refrigeration partner Hill PHOENIX, who is working with Food Lion to identify smarter ways to refrigerate food products using technologies that are gentler on the environment.

"The U.S. EPA's GreenChill Partnership is very proud to recognize Food Lion's continued leadership in ozone layer protection," said Dave Godwin, Acting Branch Chief in EPA's Stratospheric Protection Division. "Food Lion's environmental innovations in advanced refrigeration technology are exemplary within the supermarket industry."

This is Food Lion LLC's second year working in partnership with the U.S. EPA's GreenChill program. As one of the first companies to make the GreenChill pledge, Food Lion LLC has committed it will:

-- Require all new and remodeled stores to be ozone friendly in advance of Clean Air Act phase-out requirements;

-- Establish an emissions inventory of ozone-depleting substances, which will be used to set emissions reduction targets;

-- Participate in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of advanced refrigeration technologies.

"Food Lion believes that a critical aspect of serving our customers is to be a responsible corporate citizen," said Glenn Dixon, Food Lion LLC's senior vice president of corporate development. "We take great pride in undertaking initiatives such as these while encouraging other retailers to follow suit."

About Food Lion LLC

Food Lion LLC, the parent of banners Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's, is a grocery leader in energy efficiency and refrigeration technologies that reduce or eliminate the use of ozone-depleting refrigerants. Food Lion LLC was one of the first grocers to commit to the U.S. EPA's GreenChill partnership and is the only grocer to win seven consecutive ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year awards.

About GreenChill

In partnership with supermarkets, and chemical and refrigeration equipment manufacturers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new partnership, dubbed GreenChill, to promote the use of retail food refrigeration technologies that reduce emissions of ozone depleting and greenhouse gas refrigerants. The program will ask supermarket partners to make several important commitments that go beyond regulatory compliance:

-- Establish a refrigerant inventory and set emissions reduction targets;

-- Only use ozone-friendly alternatives and advanced refrigeration technologies in all new and remodeled stores;

-- Collaborate across the industry to identify service and operational practices that reduce emissions;

-- Participate in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of cutting edge "green" technologies in terms of energy efficiency, reduction of refrigerant charge and minimization of refrigerant leaks.

The EPA estimates that widespread adoption of best practices, improved equipment design and service, and advanced refrigeration technologies could reduce refrigerant emissions by 1.6 million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year, which is the equivalent of taking more than one million automobiles off the road.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 50 different kinds of products, new homes and commercial and industrial buildings. Products and buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR designation prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the government. In 2006, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved about $14 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 25 million vehicles. For more information about ENERGY STAR visit www.energystar.gov. Food Lion LLC Environmental Initiatives 2008 Fact Sheet

Food Lion LLC is becoming as well known for its energy conservation and environmental strategies as it is for great prices and quality groceries. With energy conservation practices now more than a decade strong, Food Lion LLC has received seven consecutive ENERGYSTAR Awards, the EPA's highest energy conservation honor. No other grocer has received as many ENERGYSTAR awards or has as many stores with ENERGYSTAR ratings for energy efficiency.

Food Lion LLC also is one of the first companies to voluntarily commit to the EPA's GreenChill advanced refrigeration partnership, an initiative through which companies pledge to go above and beyond regulatory requirements in protecting the ozone layer and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Refrigeration Facts

In January 2007 Food Lion LLC became one of the first grocers to commit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's GreenChill program, a move that advanced and expanded the 1,300-store chain's decade-old commitment to preserving the earth's resources.

When becoming a GreenChill partner in January 2007, Food Lion LLC committed to:

-- Ensuring that all new and remodeled stores will be ozone friendly in advance of Clean Air Act phase-out requirements;

-- Establishing an emissions inventory, which will be used to set emissions reduction targets;

-- Participating in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of advanced technologies in its stores.

Three Food Lion stores incorporate ozone-friendly product refrigeration systems, which reduce by more then 60 percent the amount of refrigerants needed to keep products cool or frozen. The systems, called Second Nature(R), were created by Hill PHOENIX, a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial refrigeration systems.

-- The first store, in Dinwiddie, Va., opened in early 2006 with a medium temperature secondary coolant system that uses water and glycol to refrigerate products.

-- The second store, in Montpelier, Va., is testing a low temperature secondary coolant system featuring carbon dioxide (CO2) to refrigerate low temperature food products.

-- A third store, in Portsmouth, Va., opened in April 2008 and incorporates both the medium- and low-temperature systems.

Food Lion LLC started phasing out R22 in 2005. All new stores opened after June 2005 received R507 instead of R22. The chain also began converting HCFC refrigerants to R507. All remodeled stores that receive new equipment are converted to R507. Today, Food Lion LLC has no CFC refrigerants in its refrigerant portfolio.

The EPA estimates that widespread adoption of best practices, improved equipment design and service, and advanced refrigeration technologies could reduce refrigerant emissions by 1.6 million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year, which is the equivalent of taking more than one million automobiles off the road.

Energy Facts

Energy costs are a grocer's second largest expense (behind labor) and consume 7 percent to 10 percent of total operating costs.

Nearly a decade ago, Food Lion LLC partnered with the U.S. EPA as an early adaptor of ENERGYSTAR. Food Lion benefited by being able to tap the knowledge base and expertise of EPA experts. The EPA, in turn, benefited by being able to test pilot initiatives in the field (across 1,300 Food Lion stores).

As the only grocery chain to win seven EPA ENERGYSTAR awards (Partner of the Year and Sustainability awards), Food Lion has one of the most advanced retail energy conservation programs in the country. Food Lion since 2000 has:

-- Trimmed energy use by more than 27 percent, despite a net increase in the number of stores and the addition of two new banners operated by Food Lion.

-- Reduced energy consumption by more than 2.43 trillion BTUs.

-- Incorporated new technologies and on-going energy management projects to net energy reductions equal to powering 457 virtual Food Lion stores. It's as if 457 stores, or 37 percent of the chain, use no energy at all.

Food Lion employs numerous technologies and initiatives to conserve energy. Some of the biggest include:

-- Demand control systems (to prioritize how energy should be used during peak times, especially during hot summer months)

-- Heat reclaim

-- Lighting automation

-- Lighting retrofits

-- Working with refrigeration vendors to increase energy efficiency in the equipment (Food Lion LLC often works hand-in-hand with vendors to design equipment)

-- Energy awareness campaigns to raise associate knowledge of energy conservation.

More than 725 of Food Lion LLC's 1,300 stores are ENERGYSTAR rated. Food Lion LLC owns more than half of all of the nation's grocery stores with ENERGYSTAR ratings.

Other Food Lion LLC Initiatives

Food Lion believes in the importance of sharing energy conservation successes and encouraging individuals and corporations to take steps toward protecting and preserving the environment through such actions as:

-- Encouraging customers to use 89-cent reusable shopping bags instead of plastic grocery bags.

-- Using generators, including generators that run off of bio-diesel fuels like cooking oils, to produce electricity during the hottest days of the summer when residential and commercial air conditioners are running at their fullest. By operating its own generators during these peak times, Food Lion LLC helps lower the amount of electricity the utilities must make to meet demand.

-- Participating in the Duke Energy Customer Collaborative, an energy efficiency collaborative created by Duke Energy and made up of key customers, state energy officials and environmental agencies. The purpose is to develop energy rates that encourage energy efficiency. Food Lion LLC joined the collaborative to show its commitment to energy conservation and to encourage other companies to do the same.

-- Supporting the U.S. National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency. By showing its support, Food Lion LLC joined other leading organizations across the country committed to working together to promote and practice energy efficiency. Food Lion is a charter member of the U.S. EPA and U.S. Department of Energy-facilitated Leadership Group.

-- Sponsoring Catawba College's Center for the Environment, whose mission is to foster environmental stewardship in North Carolina's Catawba region.

-- Partnering with Clean Air Works!, the Charlotte-area Regional Air Quality Board's fight to improve air quality and alleviate traffic congestion by providing associates with tools to change their commuting habits and other smog-reducing strategies.

About Food Lion LLC

Food Lion LLC is a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group (NYSE: DEG). Food Lion LLC operates more than 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's. These stores meet local customer needs and preferences for the freshest and best quality products. Food Lion LLC employs approximately 73,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

Source: Business Wire

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