Corporate Responsibility

Whole Foods is teaming up with EnergySmart Jobs and PECI to participate in a comprehensive technical evaluation of the upgrades the grocer has made with its high-efficiency refrigeration retrofits

EnergySmart Jobs works with grocers, supermarkets and other commercial retail businesses throughout California to lower their operating costs by reducing the amount of energy they use. Whole Foods was drawn to the program not only for the potential energy savings, but also for the opportunity to improve the environmental impact of their stores. On top of that, EnergySmart creates hundreds of new California jobs in the fast-growing energy efficiency industry.

EnergySmart Jobs and PECI will work with six California Whole Foods stores to quantify the actual amount of energy that each individual store is saving.

“Whole Foods Market has been fortunate to work with PECI for several years in our Northern California region, and significant energy efficiency improvements have been made, resulting in substantial cost savings as well,” said Kathy Loftus, global leader of sustainable engineering at Whole Foods. “When the opportunity to participate in the EnergySmart Jobs program came up, we enthusiastically agreed, as it not only helps grow the local economy, but also helps us prove the benefits of these improvements across our company and the industry.”

These two stores are part of six Whole Foods stores participating in the EnergySmart Jobs Program and each of them will be installing new energy management systems (EMS), programmed to float head and suction pressure to improve the refrigeration system efficiency. Rebates from EnergySmart Jobs cover a portion of the upfront investment costs. Together with applicable utility incentives, these rebates help the ease and affordability of adopting new energy-efficient technologies.

Data loggers installed at several of these Whole Foods locations will monitor the amount of energy used by the refrigeration system condenser and compressor fans, offering a clear before-and-after picture. Information collected from this study will enable PECI and EnergySmart Jobs to provide more accurate and detailed energy-use estimates for future projects.