Whole Foods Market honored for eco-friendly refrigeration

Whole Foods Market has received an award for deploying cutting-edge, advanced refrigeration technology.



The grocer received the 2015-2016 “Best of the Best” award from the EPA’s GreenChill Partnership for using an advanced, more environmentally sustainable refrigeration system at its store in Dublin, California.



The GreenChill Partnership works with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions. Companies receive Annual Achievement Awards for meeting refrigerant emissions rate goals, demonstrating reduced emissions, or achievements within the store certification program.



Whole Foods’ Dublin store exceeds requirements for efficiency and features an innovative indirect cooling system that greatly reduces dependency on public energy sources.



In addition, 99% of the store’s lights are high-efficiency LEDs and the refrigeration system runs entirely on natural refrigerants



“GreenChill praises Whole Foods Market for its environmental leadership within the supermarket industry as demonstrated through the installation of many innovative refrigeration systems in many stores that are protecting the ozone layer and the earth’s climate,” said Tom Land, manager of EPA’s GreenChill program.



Whole Foods Market has long worked to reduce refrigerant emissions. The company received its first GreenChill certification in 2009, after becoming a founding partner of GreenChill in 2007.



Most recently, the grocer’s newly opened store in Santa Clara, California, store received the EPA’s highest award for climate-friendly refrigeration with a Platinum level GreenChill certification. The store’s refrigeration system eliminates all direct greenhouse gas emissions from refrigeration by utilizing two natural refrigerants in the systems cutting-edge design.