Progressive Grocer - April 2009 - (Page 100)

Equipment GREEN ISSUE THE A Flash of Green Oshkosh, Wis.-based Festival Foods’ COO has sustainability in his blood, as is demonstrated by the grocer’s 13th store. By Joseph Tarnowski A lthough his family might disagree, when it comes to matters of sustainability “Green” is Festival Foods’ COO’s middle name. The executive is Marlin Greenfield, who built his 13th store, in Manitowoc, Wis., around the concept of green. “We’re very aware of the green movement and our industry’s efforts to get retailers to think twice about the type of equipment they buy, or the way they put [up] buildings,” says Greenfield. “We don’t have a full-time person to immerse in this, but we decided to do what we could for the next store that we built. We rely on our contractor, TCI out of LaCrosse, Wis., to help us make the right decisions when it comes to equipment and materials.” These decisions resulted in a host of green solutions, for one of which Greenfield was able to address the sustainability practice of sourcing locally. “We’ve been intrigued by the whole process of using daylight, and as luck would have it, Orion Energy Systems is headquartered in Manitowoc, so we visited the plant and decided its Apollo Light Pipe system was the right thing for the new store.” The system consists of 172 light pipes, a renewable light source developed to light the interior of a large building without electricity for up to 10 hours a day. The pipes are integrated with the store’s fluorescent lighting system to provide an optimal balance of illumination and energy savings. When the sun rises and 100 • Progressive Grocer • April 2009 the light coming through the pipes reaches preset levels, the fluorescent lights automatically shut down until needed. For the bulk of a sunny day, 50 percent of the lights are off, and the store is just as bright as with the lights, according to Greenfield. Where lighting is required, it’s green whenever possible. “The LED lighting is a big energy-saver,” says Greenfield. “It only consumes about one-third of the energy of incandescent bulbs, yet the life is much longer — about three or four times as long. We also have LED in our storefront lighting, and it’s ideal because of our cooler climate. LED lights don’t dim in the cold winter months like neon lights do.” The store’s upright refrigerators also use LED lighting, which is integrated with motion sensors that shut them off after a selected time period. “We’re using motion sensors in almost all of our restrooms and office areas. We have them set so A H E A D O F W H AT ’ S N E X T that if there is no motion for a period of five minutes, the lights will shut off. “The thing about LED is that you don’t shorten their life by turning them on and off, as with traditional lighting. We’re 100 percent LED on all storefronts and upright refrigerators going forward. And we want to try LED parking lot lighting.” Also at work in the store are high-efficiency heat and AC components, water spray nozzles that reduce water volume, and state-of-the-art refrigeration control systems that cycle compressors off when local electricity demand is at its peak. In the rear is a heat-reclaim system that uses heat captured from the refrigeration process to warm up the store’s backroom offices. Capping it all off is a white roof system, a rubber membrane embedded into the roof to lower air-conditioning usage by reflecting summer heat. Future stores will incorporate all of these features and more, until Greenfield reaches one of his short-term green goals: building a LEED-certified building. ■ www.progressivegrocer.com http://www.progressivegrocer.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Progressive Grocer - April 2009

Progressive Grocer - April 2009
Contents
Nielsen's Shelf Stoppers/Spotlight: Salty Snacks/Variety Snack Packs
Market Snapshot: Cleveland, Ohio
Independents Report: How Jax Markets' MacAloney Triumphed Over Adversity
Lempert Report: Consumers in Command
Nielsen Report: Keeping Up With the Economy: Insights and Opportunities in Uncertain Times
Store of the Month: Close to Home
Sustainability Best Practices: It's Not Easy Being Green
Give Green, Get Green
Store of the Month: The Collection
Household Cleaners: Green Clean Is Growing
Meat Conference: Annual Meat Conference Rustles Up Retailers, Vendors to Denver
Produce: Organic Opportunities
Meat: Premium Possibilities
Reusable Bags: Paper, Plastic or Yours?
Technology: Priced to Sell
Equipment: A Flash of Green
What's Next: Editors' Picks for Innovative Products

Progressive Grocer - April 2009