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A recent study by Manomet’s Grocery Stewardship Certification Program (GSC) found that sustainability practices at Hannaford Supermarkets annually saves the company $15 million, diverts 125 million pounds of waste from Northeast landfills and eliminates more than 430 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions..
The GSC conducted a comprehensive review of sustainability practices at Hannaford stores in 2014, examining 184 supermarkets then owned by the company. Hannaford was granted immediate certification through the GSC to 179 stores for the comprehensiveness of their sustainability practices. The remaining five stores achieved provisional certification, and will be working with the GSC to achieve the certification
“Hannaford customers care about the environment and expect us to be good stewards on their behalf,” said George Parmenter, manager of sustainability for Hannaford. “Certification of our stores demonstrates that our associates work every day on sustainability that is both good for the environment and good for business.”
In its certification research, Manomet asked detailed questions of each store about the kind of equipment used, daily workplace practices and the handling of waste. Some of the findings include:
- Energy efficiency and waste-reduction efforts at the supermarkets reduced greenhouse gas emissions by as much as taking 41,892 cars off the road.
- Stores employ electric and natural-gas conservation practices that save the company more than $2 million a year.
- Water conservation efforts save at least 43.4 million gallons of water annually.
“The GSC is helping Hannaford systemize how they manage for operational sustainability at the store level across the chain,” noted Peter Cooke, manager of the GSC program. “Hannaford has experienced exceptional employee engagement through the certification process.”
The following news outlets have shared the success of this study with their networks: