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FOOD LION JOINS EPA’S ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM TO HELP PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT

Release Date: 03/24/1999
Contact Information: Dawn Harris, EPA Press and Media Relations, 404-562-8421

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 announced today that Food Lion has joined the Agency’s Energy Star Buildings and Green Lights Partnership Program. In a signing ceremony at the grand opening of a store in Lexington, S.C., Food Lion unveiled plans to reduce its energy consumption and air pollution emissions by installing more energy-efficient equipment.

“I wish to congratulate Food Lion for its commitment to environmental protection and energy conservation,” said John H. Hankinson, Jr., EPA Regional Administrator, in Atlanta. “The Energy Star Buildings and Green Lights Partnership Program proves that environmental stewardship can also yield significant cost savings through reduced expenditures.”

“Food Lion is committed to reducing waste, which not only protects our environment, but also cuts costs,.” said Keith Gehl, Food Lion’s Vice President of Real Estate. “The Energy Star Buildings and Green Lights Partnership is a wonderful opportunity to do what’s right for the environment and to pass on more savings to our customers.”

The new Lexington, S.C. store, Food Lion’s first Energy Star building, houses a water heating system that uses heat from the store’s refrigeration system. The system is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 63,700 pounds a year. Food Lion has committed to upgrade more than 650 facilities across its 11-state operating area. It is estimated that upon completion, Food Lion will reduce its energy consumption by 28 million kilowatt hours (kWh) a year. This translates into an air pollution reduction of 41 million pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Carbon dioxide is linked to global climate change.

The energy to run commercial and industrial buildings in the United States produces 14 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and costs $90 billion a year. If implemented in every U.S. commercial and industrial building, the Energy Star Buildings and Green Lights upgrade approach could prevent up to 35 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with these buildings and cut the nation’s energy bill by up to $25 billion annually.

Initiated in 1991, Energy Buildings and Green Lights currently has more than 2,700 participants nationwide. As of October 1998, participants reduced their energy use by 22.4 billion kWh and annually saved more than $593 million. Cumulatively, Energy Star Buildings and Green Lights participants have prevented the emissions of 35 billion pounds of carbon dioxide—equivalent to removing the pollution from 1.4 million cars. EPA predicts that by the year 2000 more than 44.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions will be eliminated by the Energy Star Buildings and Green Lights Partnership Program.