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Food Lion Adds More ENERGY STAR Stores, Launches Campaign to Save Energy in Delis

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 October 2006, 09:00 CDT

SALISBURY, N.C., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In honor of National Energy Awareness Month (October), Food Lion announces a major milestone in energy conservation and two energy-saving initiatives.

Food Lion's 600th store has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR(R), a rigorous and prestigious designation for superior energy performance and management. The ENERGY STAR label indicates that 600 Food Lion stores - about than half of the grocer's total number of stores - are some of the most energy-efficient retail facilities in the United States. Food Lion has far more ENERGY STAR stores than any other U.S. retailer.

Since 1998, Food Lion and the EPA have worked in close partnership to push Food Lion's energy-conservation efforts to increasingly higher levels. In the last 12 months alone, Food Lion successfully increased the number of stores that qualify for the ENERGY STAR designation from 400 to 600.

For its efforts adopting and applying energy management practices and technology throughout its operations, Food Lion received the EPA's ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year awards in 2001 and 2002. In both years, Food Lion was the only supermarket company to receive the honor. In 2003, 2004 and 2005, the EPA again recognized Food Lion's energy management efforts by awarding Food Lion the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award.

Reducing Store Energy Use Even More

Energy is Food Lion's second-largest operating expense. Since 2000, Food Lion has successfully reduced energy consumption by more than 25 percent, or 2.45 trillion BTUs (the energy equivalent of powering 71,784 American homes). This is a sales equivalent of nearly $1.34 billion.

Building on its success, Food Lion is launching a campaign to reduce energy use even further through store employee action. The campaign will make store deli employees aware of their ability to impact their store's energy use. Because of the equipment used each day for deli operations, deli associates have the ability to reduce a store's energy bill significantly through the smart use of deli equipment. Letting an exhaust hood run one extra hour per day, for instance, costs a store $1,500 more in energy each year.

The energy awareness campaign uses engaging scratch-off cards to help deli associates think about the power they have over power. During the three-week campaign, associates will receive a different card each week. By helping deli associates take partial ownership of their store's power bill, Food Lion hopes each associate will take steps to reduce energy consumption.

Pledging to Change a Light

Because energy awareness should extend into homes as well, Food Lion is encouraging employees at its corporate headquarters to make the EPA's Change a Light Day Pledge and change at least one bulb in their home to a compact fluorescent bulb.

Lighting accounts for nearly 20 percent of the average home's electric bill. Changing to more efficient options not only makes a dent in the amount of fossil fuels local power plants must burn to generate electricity, it also helps reduce electric bills at home.

Over the life of a single compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), consumers can save an average of $30 or more in electricity costs while preventing more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. And, every CFL uses at least 2/3 less energy than a standard incandescent and lasts as much as 10 times longer.

During the pledge campaign, Food Lion and a vendor partner are giving away 100 CFLs and are using articles, posters and brochures to educate employees about conserving energy at home.

About Food Lion

Food Lion LLC is a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group . Food Lion LLC operates more than 1,200 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.

Food Lion LLC

CONTACT: Jeff Lowrance of Food Lion, +1-704-633-8250, ext. 3888, orjclowrance@foodlion.com

Web site: http://www.foodlion.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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