Supervalu, through a partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), targets a 10 percent reduction in carbon emissions by the end of 2012, using 2007 as the baseline year. This partnership marks the first major retailer to join WWF’s Climate Savers program.
To meet its goal, Supervalu has identified several key areas of focus including lighting, refrigeration, and fleet transportation. These initiatives include converting store lighting from traditional fluorescent lamps to LED-based lighting, and improving refrigeration efficiencies through the installation of night curtains for open refrigerated cases and better refrigeration controls on all refrigerated cases.
The supermarket chain also will implement an integrated fleet transportation plan that will improve efficiencies by reducing diesel fuel consumption, improving truck idle times through use of on-board technology and reducing trailer refrigeration run time during loading and unloading of trailers.
Supervalu joins 24 other participants in WWF’s Climate Savers program, including Hewlett Packard, Nike, The Coca-Cola Company, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson. Collectively, Climate Savers partners will reduce emissions by an estimated 50 million tons by the end of 2010.
Supervalu also participates in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenchill program, aimed at cutting emissions in the supermarket industry. The EPA recently awarded the supermarket chain with its the EPA GreenChill’s Distinguished Partner Award, its “Best of the Best” (Certified Store) Award for Supervalu’s new Chestnut Hill Star Market in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and the Environmental Achievement Award for achievement of the company’s annual environmental goals.
Supervalu is also a leader on the “Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index,” which tracks companies within the S&P 500 Index on their climate change disclosure practices. The CDP represents 534 institutional investors with $64 trillion in assets under management.