Stop & Shop and Giant Foods selected for Green Building pilot

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. and its sister company Giant Food have been selected as the only supermarket chain in the country to have been selected to participate in the US Green Building Council (USGBC) Portfolio Program pilot for LEED volume certification for existing buildings. "Our acceptance into this pilot recognizes Stop & Shop and Giant's strong environmental leadership and innovation and our early commitment to and success in developing and operating green and energy efficient stores," stated Stop & Shop and Giant president and CEO, José Alvarez. USGBC develops and administers the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, which is the nationally accepted standard for green buildings. The USGBC Portfolio Program is a pilot program that enables owners to integrate the LEED green building rating system into new and existing buildings in their company's portfolio, and do so in a cost effective way without sacrificing the technical rigor and integrity of LEED. The Portfolio Program recognizes market leaders who have committed to and achieved high levels of LEED certification within their portfolio. Participants in the pilot program represent a cross section of market sectors, including institutional investors, financial institutions, hoteliers, retailers, higher education, governments and corporations. The USGBC Portfolio Pilot Program is currently closed and expects to be open to the market in 2008. "Stop & Shop is making a tremendous commitment to green building," said Doug Gatlin, director, LEED National Accounts. "Green buildings are environmentally responsible, healthier for the building occupants, and are more profitable." "Stop & Shop and Giant Food are already leaders in energy efficient and environmentally sustainable policies and initiatives," said Jihad Rizkallah vice president of design and engineering for Stop & Shop and Giant. "We have many standardized environmentally responsible programs and systems in our stores, such as recycling, solid waste management, and water conservation. We have also been recognized nationally for our energy-efficiency attributes including white reflective TPO roof membrane, daylight harvesting, T5 fluorescent lighting systems with dimmable ballasts and occupancy sensors controlled by state-of-the-art energy management systems, refrigeration systems with high-efficiency fan motors, low energy glass, and more." USGBC is working with market leaders in a variety of market sectors, including institutional investors, financial institutions, hoteliers, retailers, higher education, and government to further develop and refine this program. According to the USGBC, in the U.S. buildings account for 36% of total energy use, 65% of electricity consumption and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. Stores in the Stop & Shop and Giant Food portfolio use about 40% less energy than average supermarkets.