Apr 1, 2008 12:00 PM

Retail grocery company SuperValu Inc. has joined the United States Environmental Protection Agency's GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership, a voluntary program to promote green technologies, strategies and practices that protect the ozone layer and reduce greenhouse gases.

SuperValu has been a leader in protecting the environment by developing and implementing energy and refrigerant emission reduction programs. The company was honored in 2006 by Environmental Support Solutions with its Excellence Award and is active in the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Sustainability Task Force and its Energy and Technical Services Committee. Additionally, the company operates more than 100 Energy Star stores across the nation.

By signing the GreenChill partnership pledge, SuperValu has expanded its environmental stewardship efforts by:

• Using only non-ozone-depleting refrigerants in all commercial refrigeration applications in new construction and store remodels involving rack additions or replacements.

• Reducing emissions of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas refrigerants every year.

• Participating in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of advanced technologies.

GreenChill is an EPA cooperative alliance with the supermarket industry and other stakeholders to promote adoption of advanced technologies, strategies, and practices that reduce emissions of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases. With the addition of the 12 SuperValu banners, there are now a total 27 partners in GreenChill.