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WAKEFERN/SHOPRITE RETAIL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD PROFILE
David Deets, director of store development and sustainability, has been with Wakefern ShopRite for 25 years, and with Brown’s for 15 years. However, it was just about two years ago he embraced his role to drive sustainability at Brown’s.
“It was an interesting transition, because until I took this job, I was just recy- cling my cans at home. It’s been quite a learning curve,” he says. “I didn’t know much about sustainability, but it’s gone very well, and we’ve done a lot of good things at Brown’s.”
Deets’ conquered his learning curve rather quickly. Brown’s received a 2013 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Award for Outstanding Achievement in Food Waste Prevention and Diversion. President Obama recognized owner Jeff Brown for his work in abating supermarket deserts and bringing fresh, nutritious food to impoverished areas.
“About two years ago, our owner said he wanted to take sustainability to the next level,” says Deets. “Produce is a big part of our food waste program. For many years most of our produce waste ended up in the trash and landfills. In 2012, we started an aggressive program of organic waste divi- sion in Maryland. We partner with companies to handle all our organic mate- rials. We’re now at an 83 percent diversion rate. Our goal is to get to zero waste as a company,” he says.
“We made a decision not to sell produce with defects at a marked down price because of our image. Now, instead of throwing it away, we train foodservice staff on how to use it, or it’s donated.”
Brown’s has a training program estab- lished for associates in produce, meat, and bakery. “In produce, we used to cull product and throw it in the trash. Now we cull with two boxes in the morning; one is for rotten, non-edible trash, the other is for distressed items that are fine to eat, but not suitable for sale, which are put aside for donations, and picked up by local organi- zations.
“The program has had a tremendous effect on our trash costs. In 2013 we diverted 171 tons of products to local food banks. If you got everyone in the country to do something similar, imagine the impact,” he says.
“We have zero tolerance for stores not following the program, but it has been an easier sell than I thought. When we do
orientations and training programs, people appreciate that they’re not just saving Brown’s money, but helping someone in the neighborhood that’s hungry,” he says. “In our urban stores, particularly, everyone knows people who are hungry. If a bag of apples is bruised, they want to give it to a child in need.”
“Brown’s has been at the forefront of bringing affordable and healthy food to underserved communities, creating stores in food deserts, as well as through dona- tions,” says Deets, noting that Jeff Brown was recognized for these efforts as a guest of honor in Michelle Obama’s box at Presi- dent Obama’s State of the Union address.
SHAWN RAVITZ,
vice president of administration, Supermarkets of Cherry Hill, Inc.
KEN BRAHL, senior director labor relations,
Supermarkets of Cherry Hill, Inc.
About Supermarkets of Cherry Hill, Inc.
As a Russian immigrant, Dave Ravitz came to this country looking for his Amer- ican dream. And in 1901, he found it when he opened a small grocery store. His son Stanley joined him, and together they grew their business. Looking for a way to lower prices without sacrificing quality, the Ravitz family joined Wakefern/ShopRite coopera- tive in 1984. Today, the third and fourth generations of Ravitz grocers operate five ShopRites: three in Burlington and two in Camden counties in New Jersey, with another scheduled to open in Camden in 2014.
Energy Conservation/Waste Diversion
“From an industry perspective, sustain- ability became hip, but we have never been a company doing something because it sounds good, unless it provides solutions with measured results,” says Shawn Ravitz, who is responsible for construction main- tenance, finance, labor relations and human resources. “Whether it’s a budget cost savings initiative, extra safety or secu- rity within the operations of the store, an
environmental benefit, or maybe an effi- ciency benefit, it can’t just be sustainability for the sake of sustainability.”
“Sustainability has become a ubiquitous word easily thrown around. It comes down to dollars and has to make financial sense,” adds Ken Brahl, who’s worked at the company more than 21 years, covering loss prevention, shrink and quality areas.
Early on, the focus was toward energy with major initiatives geared to store lighting and refrigeration, LED and spot lighting in the produce department, as well as revamping case lighting and refrigeration (such as changing fan motors to variable speed drives, which saved energy).
“That was our early adoption, and we’re continuing to watch where technology is going to take other energy conservation measures, such as water cultivation. Renewable energy is certainly being tested by some members,” says Ravitz, adding, “I sit on a committee within Wakefern where we evaluate operational cost controls. That’s where we share ideas and test them out, and not every member will have the same level of commitment to jump in.”
In the area of food gleaning and waste, Wakefern provided education on working with food banks, composting, and organic waste diversion. “We started in 2011, part- nering with an organic waste company here and a local food bank and our efforts took off,” says Brahl. Eventually composting and organic waste conversions led into recy- cling and a co-mingling program.
In monitoring results, “we’re using 2010 as our baseline, when we weren’t doing anything specific with waste. Now we’ve reduced trash to landfills by 48 percent, 41 percent of that is going into composting — all your produce waste, food waste, every- thing we can find,” says Ravitz.
Initially, the food-gleaning program focused a lot with bakery and frozen prod- ucts, before going to produce, which was more challenging, according to Brahl. A key part of the training was bringing everyone to the food bank to experience things first hand. “It’s important to see the big picture. Once there is buy in, it’s part of the culture and then it’s a process,” he says.
That process involved delegating responsibility to the department managers to drive the program. “They were really on board. No one went in kicking and screaming. We slid into the composting
40 PRODUCE BUSINESS • MAY 2014