Carbondale, Ill. – Neighborhood Co-op Grocery leads the way in becoming the first store in Southern Illinois to receive a Silver Level GreenChill certification from the Environment Protection Agency(EPA). This award is given to businesses that reduce in-store refrigerant usage by more than 65 percent. Through the use of green refrigeration systems and regular maintenance, the Co-op’s refrigeration is more environmentally friendly than ever.

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“It’s important for us to reduce our footprint and by reducing refrigerant emissions, this is a significant step to helping our environment,” says Francis Murphy, Neighborhood Co-op’s General Manger. He added, “We would like to appreciate the work of Ron Ceto of AC Systems Service for providing all of the technical data needed in our application for GreenChill certification.”

GreenChill partner stores have much lower leak rates than average stores in the United States. If every supermarket reduced its leaks to the GreenChill average, the supermarket industry could save more than $100 million in refrigerant replacement costs and reduce emissions by an amount equal to 4.3 million cars, 2.5 billion gallons of gasoline, or the electricity use of 2.7 million homes (22 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent).

 

"Neighborhood Co-op Grocery is setting an excellent example of environmental leadership among supermarkets by voluntarily reducing the company's impact on the earth's ozone layer and on climate change,” says Tom Land, EPA’s GreenChill manager. “We at EPA hope that Neighborhood Co-op Grocery’s commitment will spur its competitors to take the same challenge and meet the Co-op’s standards."

 

The mission of the Neighborhood Co-op Grocery is to serve the needs of owners and patrons by providing wholesome foods-economically, in the Cooperative tradition, and in ways that best promote the health of the individual, the community, and the Earth. Over the years, the store has made efforts to reduce its footprint by installing LED lighting, skylights, and recycles as much waste as possible. The Co-op is excited to achieve this prestigious EPA GreenChill Award. “We knew our supermarket was special, but to have EPA recognize us for our environmental achievements really motivates our employees.  We are happy to do our part to help the environment,” says Murphy.

 

About EPA’s GreenChill Partnership

EPA’s GreenChill Partnership works with supermarkets to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the ozone layer and climate change.  The Partnership provides information and assistance to help supermarkets transition to environmentally friendlier refrigerants; reduce harmful refrigerant emissions; and adopt green refrigeration technologies, strategies, and practices. For more information on EPA’s GreenChill Partnership, including its store certification program, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/greenchill. 

 

For more information, contact Francis Murphy at (618) 529-3533, francis@neighborhood.coop