Energy efficiency upfits and commissioning such as certification with LEED-EB is very economical in grocery stores for a number of reasons.
- Food stores use a lot of energy
- They use 24/7 refrigeration
- They use extensive energy for cooking and washing in the prepared foods department.
- Grocery stores use a lot of water
- They occupy a considerable site area.
- Grocery stores have large waste disposal costs
- Many are chains with centralized purchasing, so that many of the LEED-EB programs can be easily leveraged.
One example of a food store chain that has taken advantage of green building strategies to save money and improve their sustainability is Ahold, which has a strong corporate responsibility commitment based on a partnership with customers to build a more sustainable future. Ahold operates 1300 stores along the East Coast, including the Stop & Shop chain.
In 1998, Stop & Shop developed what they called the Low Energy SuperStore (LESS) prototype. Stop & Shop/Ahold set a goal of building a superstore that uses about one-third less electricity than conventional supermarkets.
They focused on strategic savings in
lighting and heating
ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC)
super-efficient refrigeration
systems integration
building envelope improvements
Volume LEED CertificationIn 2007, Stop & Shop began the USGBC's
Volume LEED Certification program, using the LEED-EB program as the base certification program. The 51 Stop & Shop grocery stores in the certified portfolio are part of a larger group of company stores that share many similar characteristics, making them excellent candidates for the volume LEED-EB certification process.
All of the Stop & Shop stores are built with common specificatiosn; and have further selection criteria included in the LEED-EB checklist, they have active ENERGY STAR ratings, share store management/ ownership policies, and have similar age and location in or near New England, giving them similar ecosystem and weather characteristics.
Stop & Shop is the first company and first supermarket chain in the United States to be awarded LEED-EB certification in this manner.
Leverage Matters!The most beneficial factors in the business case for green building were the ability to use the system as a framework for creating new design metrics and the benefit of reduced LEED certification costs per store.
The switch from single-building certifications to a volume perspective with attractive economies of scale is critical to giving larger retailers cost-effective incentives to comprehensively address their environmental impacts.
Strategic Green Building Tactics for Savings
Energy and water savings were critical elements in both the economics and environmental footprint of the Stop & Shop stores.
Cool Roofs and Insulation of the Building Shell
They used cool, white reflective roof membranes, reducing solar heat gain and therefore lowering the demand for air conditioning, and also added extra layers of insulation to hold heat in during the winter.
Stop & Shop focused particularly on product lighting for energy savings. More efficient lighting and mechanical systems produces less waste heat.
Appliances like ultra-efficient refrigeration and HVAC units. Advanced refrigeration designs more accurately match the specific refrigeration needs of products in different display cases while at the same time minimizing energy consumption.
Waste heat from refrigeration units is used to preheat water for in-store use and to provide space heating.
According to Yudelson, a noted green architect and researcher, "From a macroeconomic perspective, energy efficiency upgrades represent the most cost-effective way to meet growing energy demands. From a microeconomic perspective, recent studies have shown that energy-efficient and certified green buildings merit higher market values, greater rents, and higher occupancies. From a corporate sustainability viewpoint, greening existing buildings is a direct way to reduce a company's carbon footprint. As a result, corporate real estate managers in the United States have begun to decide in favor of greening both owned and leased buildings, seeing many economic benefits from this switch."
SOURCE:
Yudelson, Markets for Greening Existing Buildings
