Stop & Shop Gets Smart About Trucks, Is Named an Energy Star Leader With Giant-Landover

QUINCY, Mass. -- Stop & Shop here has joined EPA's SmartWay Transport Partnership, a voluntary collaboration formed in 2004 between the agency and the freight industry to save an estimated 33 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions annually by 2012.

The Ahold banner is working to improve the fuel efficiency of its fleet through such measures as automatic engine shutdowns to reduce idling, cab roof fairings, a smaller cab/trailer gap to reduce wind resistance, advanced lubricants to reduce drive train friction losses, and longer trailers to carry more product in one trip.

The grocer also trains drivers in ways to shift efficiently and avoid idling, and is employing on-board computer data to give truck drivers feedback on their fuel efficiency.

In the Northeast, heavy-duty trucks contribute 40 percent of NOx and 30 percent of particulate matter emissions generated by the transportation sector, two pollutants with serious health and environmental effects.

"We are deeply committed to finding energy conservation and energy efficiency solutions," noted Stop & Shop and Giant president and c.e.o. Jose Alvarez. "With 575 Stop & Shop and Giant stores covering more than 33 million square feet and 165 trucks in our Stop & Shop fleet, it is of utmost importance that we constantly work to improve our energy performance. We believe this is the right thing to do not only because these measures help us leave a lasting legacy -- a healthy planet -- for our children and grandchildren, but they also help our customers today. Our energy conservation and energy efficiency programs help lower our operating costs, and in turn we pass these savings on to customers, keeping our prices low."

Stop & Shop has achieved a fuel economy average 22 percent greater than most truck fleets, saving over 8,000 tons of CO2, 46 tons of NOx, and one ton of particulate matter per year, according to EPA calculations.

Companies join the SmartWay Transport Partnership for a three-year period and start by analyzing the efficiency of their operations using special software. EPA helps partners set individualized goals for fuel saving and emission reductions, and chooses from a wide assortment of technology and procedural strategies to meet those goals while saving money. Partners benchmark their operations, track their savings, and report annually to EPA.

Stop & Shop is testing additional strategies to further improve its SmartWay efficiency score, among them the use of single-wide tires to reduce rolling resistance, and automatic tire inflation systems.

EPA is currently working with more than 650 businesses on the SmartWay initiative.

Additionally, the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., LLC, which includes the Ahold banners Stop & Shop in New England, New York and New Jersey, and Giant Food in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, has been recognized as an Energy Star Leader. Stop & Shop is the only company in New England to earn the distinction in 2007, and Stop & Shop/Giant is the only supermarket chain in the country to earn this recognition.

The supermarket chain is one of 16 organizations across the United States to earn the award this year in recognition of improvements to its energy performance. Stop & Shop and Giant have a rating of 90 (out of possible 100) at their 552 buildings.

Companies earn the elite Energy Star Leader designation by manage energy strategically across an entire portfolio of buildings employing EPA's standardized measurement tool for tracking building energy use. These organizations have improved the energy performance of their portfolio by 10 percent or more. The highest Leaders recognition honors those organizations with portfolios that perform in the top 25 percent of energy efficiency nationwide, based on the average of the buildings in the portfolio. Stop & Shop has been recognized for the superior energy performance of this group of supermarkets.

In August EPA awarded Stop & Shop an Energy Star label for its Southbury, Conn., store, whose energy-efficiency measures included skylights and natural lighting, high-efficiency T5 lighting, refrigeration systems with variable-speed compressors and low-energy glass doors, occupancy sensors, and reflective insulation roofing.
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