Food Lion's First Green Store Receives Silver LEED Rating
06/21/10 by Staff Writer
Food Lion, the supermarket chain headquartered in Salisbury, learned recently that its first “green” grocery store has received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification. The store opened in December 2009 in Columbia, S.C.
“With corporate responsibility being one of the three pillars for the Delhaize Group, moving to a greener building standard made sense,” says Scott Hollar, corporate responsibility manager for Delhaize America. “It shows our commitment to customers who want to shop a grocery store that is aware of environmental issues and concerns.” Food Lion is a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group.
Hollar notes that it is good for the company’s “triple bottom line,” which addresses economic, social and environmental responsibilities. “It’s great for the environment, and it’s also great for the business, which translates into being great for the consumer because we are reducing our expenses and can pass along some of that savings to them,” he says.
Built to strict specifications, the Columbia store features both environmentally friendly construction and energy-efficient services, including high-efficiency lighting that dims lights as natural sunlight in the store increases; LED lighting in the frozen food cases; two educational kiosks; and a bike rack and preferred parking for low-emitting vehicles.
“We looked at the Columbia store holistically,” says Clarence Ballard, Food Lion’s construction manager. “In the past we focused more on the energy side, but in Columbia we also started looking at things like water conservation – everything from sensor-activated fixtures to low-flow devices on faucets.” It is expected to save 40 percent more water than a standard store – a total of 142,405 gallons a year.
The company made a hefty commitment to waste reduction and conservation of natural resources during the store’s construction. It purchased more than half of the building materials from manufacturers within 500 miles of the store’s location to reduce the amount of fossil fuel used to transport the materials. The construction materials were made of 25 percent recycled content, and 50 percent of the wood was Forest Stewardship Council Certified. Bathroom partitions were made from recycled material like juice, milk and water bottles.
The company was able to recycle 85 percent of the construction waste, which prevented it from going to landfills. In addition, the Silver LEED rating requires that the store save 20 percent more energy than the standard supermarket. By using low-toxicity materials and environmentally sound construction practices, the store has also enhanced its indoor air quality.
Extensive documentation for the LEED project and enhanced commissioning -- a process that requires a third party to ensure that the various systems are installed perfectly and operating as designed -- were challenges, says Mark Rufty, senior manager for the company’s engineering group. Those elements will be incorporated into their standard operating procedures for future LEED-certified stores.
The company’s efforts in energy efficiency over the past 10 years made it possible to exceed the basic LEED certification. “It was easy to go a few points into the Silver rating,” Rufty says, “because we were piggybacking on efforts we have been working on for years.”
Three more green stores are planned in the near future – one in Williamsburg, Va., and two in Fayetteville, N.C.