Thanks to its ongoing commitment to reduce overall environmental impact, ALDI recently received the 2020 Green Power Leadership Award and a 2019 GreenChill Store Certification, as well as a Re-Certification Excellence Award for select stores, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“We are proud to receive these honorable recognitions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Aaron Sumida, vice president, ALDI. “As one of America’s largest retailers, it’s important for ALDI to prioritize our adoption of green power usage across our operations, showing others that it’s an affordable, accessible choice that can help reduce air pollution and other emissions. We look forward to continuing our sustainability journey by taking intentional and strategic steps to make our stores and warehouses more environmentally friendly.”
The annual Green Power Leadership Awards are part of the EPA’s Green Power Partner recognition program that celebrates America’s leading green power users for their commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market. ALDI was one of only four organizations nationwide to receive an Excellence in Green Power Use Award for demonstrating exemplary action and dedication to significantly advancing the U.S. renewable energy market.
ALDI is currently purchasing more than 980 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet more than 100 percent of the organization’s electricity use. Additionally, ALDI ranks No. 16 on EPA’s National Top 100 list of participating companies, No. 3 on the Top 30 Retail list and No. 15 on the Top 30 On-site rewewables list. Each list highlights EPA Green Power Partners using the most renewable electricity annually as of July 2020.
The EPA’s GreenChill Partnership helps supermarkets make the shift to environmentally friendlier refrigerants, reduce harmful refrigerant emissions and adopt greener refrigeration technologies and environmental best practices. ALDI also recently received a Store Certification Excellence award for achieving the most GreenChill store certifications in the past year, as well as a Store Re-Certification Excellence award in select stores in New York for renewing GreenChill store certifications for five consecutive years. As of December 2019, ALDI has more than 300 GreenChill-certified stores across the country. Each of these store certifications received platinum ratings, which is the highest level of achievement.
“For the second year in a row, ALDI has demonstrated their exceptional leadership in food retail refrigerant management,” said Kirsten Cappel, GreenChill program manager. “In this annual recognition cycle, ALDI certified 331 stores all at the Platinum level – the highest possible certification. This achievement exemplifies the ALDI commitment to sustainable refrigeration management and the use of advanced refrigeration technologies that are better for the environment.”
“ALDI has prioritized its people, its communities and the environment since day one. We are dedicated to reducing our overall environmental impact. From recycling and using solar power to building environmentally friendly warehouses and stores, ALDI is committed to being a more sustainable business” Sumida added.
As part of a $5 billion capital investment in new and remodeled stores across the U.S., ALDI is increasing its renewable energy building elements, including preference for energy-saving LED lighting, energy-efficient refrigerated systems and rooftop solar systems on twelve warehouses and 108 stores – and counting. For more on corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts at ALDI, visit https://corporate.aldi.us/en/corporate-responsibility/.
