Delhaize reveals enviro initiatives
1st June 2014
BELGIUM: The Delhaize Group has revealed that it reduced refrigerant emissions by 8%/m² in 2013, a year in which it trialled transcritical CO2 systems in two stores.
The Belgian international food retailer, which operates under such brands as Food Lion, Sweetbay, Alfa Beta, Mega Image and Super-Indo in addition to Hannaford and Delhaize, is present in nine countries and operates over 3,500 stores.
The retailer’s US operations were criticised last year by the Environmental Investigation Agency for failing to take meaningful steps to reduce their dependence on HFC refrigerants. However, the company’s recently published sustainability report reveals a number of initiatives including implementing a condition-based refrigeration maintenance programme and installing cabinet doors in addition to the CO2 installations and refrigerant emission reductions.
In March 2013, Delhaize opened a pilot store in the south of Brussels employing a CO2 transcritical refrigeration system. The store also included LED lighting and doors on many of the store’s chillers and cabinets. Energy consumption data will be used to determine whether and how to apply these systems in more stores.
Transcritical CO2 refrigeration was also employed in the Hannaford store in Turner, Maine, which opened last July – the first time such a system and been employed in a US supermarket. The store subsequently won a “Best of the Best” award from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership.
Food Lion, another of the Delhaize Group’s US supermarket brands developed a condition-based maintenance Program to help keep refrigeration systems operating at peak performance. The programme was piloted in 100 stores in 2013 with plans to expand it in coming years.
