For the second consecutive year, ALDI earned recognition as a National Top 100 Partner by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership for the company’s advancements in transitioning to green power across its operations. The EPA also honored ALDI with the 2020 GreenChill Store Certification Excellence award while more than 30 stores received the Store Re-Certification Excellence honors for reducing harmful refrigerant emissions.
“We’re proud to be continually recognized by the EPA as a grocery leader in the voluntary green power market, and this acclaim solidifies our steadfast commitment to protecting our environment,” said Dan Gavin, vice president of national real estate at ALDI. “Every day, our team works to increase energy efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint across all ALDI operations, particularly in regard to our carbon footprint of our stores and warehouses.”
“We applaud ALDI for their sustained commitment to reducing their refrigerant emissions,” said Kirsten Cappel, GreenChill Program Manager. “ALDI continues to demonstrate their environmental leadership by having a record number of stores re-certify for over five years.”
For more than thirty years, the EPA’s Climate Partnership Programs, originating with Green Lights and expanding to programs like GreenChill, have helped Americans and businesses transition to more environmentally friendly technologies and energy resources. In 2019 alone, these programs drove reductions equivalent to 8 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Contributing to this reduction, ALDI earned more EPA GreenChill store certifications in 2020 than all grocery retailers in the nation combined, all at the highest certification level.
ALDI Ranks No. 15 on the EPA Green Power Partnership’s “National Top 100 List”
The EPA established the Green Power Partnership in 2001 to protect human health and the environment by encouraging organizations to use voluntary green power and renewable electricity sources. By doing so, organizations like ALDI help reduce carbon pollution and the corresponding negative environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use.
As of July 2021, ALDI is listed as No. 2 on the Top 30 Retail Partners list and No. 15 on the Green Power Partner’s “National Top 100 List” of the largest green power users. Today, ALDI is using more than 1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which represents nearly 100% of its operation’s total power needs and, according to the EPA, is equivalent to the annual electricity use of almost 100,000 average American homes.
ALDI Sustainability Charter
The ALDI charter for sustainability describes the company’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by 2025. This goal was set using science-based targets (SBTi) calculated specific to ALDI.
ALDI is taking actionable steps to increase its energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions through a continued transition to solar and wind energy. The company is also building out its renewable infrastructure to rely less on traditional power grids and adopting natural refrigerants.
“By making the choice to implement renewable energy sources and improve our building and store equipment, ALDI is tracking toward our emissions reduction target and sending a message to others across all industries that using green power is smart business,” explained Gavin. “When we act sustainably, from our energy business to our supply chains to our waste reduction efforts, we are doing the right thing for our employees, customers, communities and the environment.”
ALDI Earns EPA GreenChill Certifications for Transitioning to Eco-conscious Refrigerants
The EPA GreenChill Partnership works with the food retail industry, including supermarkets, grocery stores and wholesale clubs, to reduce the harmful impact of refrigerant emissions on the ozone layer and climate change. Because many commercial refrigeration systems are prone to leakage, the EPA’s GreenChill Partnership, including ALDI, works to reduce refrigerant leaks and transition to refrigerants that are friendlier to the environment. The Partnership also focuses on adopting other green technologies and best practices to reduce retailers’ carbon footprints.
ALDI received a 2020 Store Certification Excellence award for achieving the most GreenChill store certifications in the past year, as well as a 2020 Store Re-Certification Excellence award for its 31 stores that have earned GreenChill certifications for five consecutive years.
In total, all ALDI U.S. warehouses and more than 420 stores use natural refrigerants, and the company will continue to shift to natural refrigerants in all store locations.
