Page 92 - Retail_Sustainability_Award_09-to-18

PROFILE
RETAIL SUSTAINABILITY AWARD WAKEFERN/SHOPRITE
leader in the co-op with track lighting conversions from largely metal halide. LED track lighting has gotten remarkably better over the last couple of years. We are now able to give our produce merchandisers the color rendering they could only get using metal halide just a few years ago and without the Ultraviolet light that was objec- tionable with metal halide. We have made the switch to LED lighting in our multi-deck cases as well as in all of our new case replacements.
We also began installing glass doors on some multi-deck produce cases. We have four stores that currently have the doors, and it become a standard for any new or remodeled store. The doors save energy and improve product integrity.
prep room or working in the cooler. Sensors are a fairly easy and an inexpensive way to save energy and are eligible for incentives from most power authorities.
There is always some apprehension to trying something new, says Culver, describing an initiative to put dairy prod- ucts and now some produce products behind glass doors to reduce energy consumption. “My biggest fear was that we would hurt sales by making the department more cumbersome to shop for our customers,” he says. “To my surprise, our customers fully embraced the initiative. The larger challenge was convincing our store personnel of the benefits. After explaining the ability to maintain more consistent product temperatures, they were completely won over and it has become an accepted practice now for all of our new projects,” he says, adding, “I was particu- larly surprised how painless converting open multi-deck produce was to our customers and associates. The success of any conservation measure lies in getting everyone to work together toward the
We have four stores with Organic
Digesters that are primarily used by our
produce departments. The digesters work
by using microorganisms to break down
and decompose the food waste into a non-
toxic liquid that is safely disposed of into
standard wastewater. By putting produce
scraps in the digester, instead of the trash
compactor, we can divert up to 800 pounds the lights when associates are not in the common goal.” pb
of organic waste from reaching the landfill each week.
Lastly, we did not restrict LED lighting to just the sales floor. We use LED fixtures in the produce prep departments as well as the coolers. In addition to installing LED, we also install occupancy sensors to turn off
MAY 2014 • PRODUCE BUSINESS 45