EPA honors Raley’s for GreenChill Partnership

West Sacramento, Calif. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership announced that Raley’s Family of Fine Stores received a GreenChill 2013 Achievement Award for extraordinary leadership and initiative in achieving the Partnership’s mission to better protect the Earth’s ozone layer and reduce the impact on climate change through innovative refrigeration systems. As a recipient of the 2013-2014 Distinguished Supermarket Partner, Raley’s was recognized for its accomplishments in the last year at the FMI Energy & Store Development Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.



Raley’s joined the EPA’s GreenChill Partnership in 2009 and has voluntarily reduced its emissions rate by over 10% over the last five years.



Raley’s GreenChill pilot store, located in Petaluma, California, was the first in the state and just second in the nation to receive GreenChill Gold Level Certification for innovative refrigeration technology. It also received special GreenChill recognition last year for maintaining its GreenChill certification for five consecutive years.



In addition to reducing refrigerant emissions, Raley’s invests in upgrading and modernizing its refrigeration systems to reduce energy loss. The company installed night blankets on refrigerators at each store to limit energy loss during the night hours when the stores are closed.



In 2014, 25 Raley’s stores have no reported leaks and 43 stores are under 9% refrigerant emissions rates, compared to the estimated national emissions rate of 25%.



“Over the past year, Raley’s has proven itself a true leader for the GreenChill Program,” said Tom Land, GreenChill program manager. “Raley’s earned GreenChill’s Distinguished Partner Award for openly sharing their detailed procedures and costs in determining the exact amount of refrigerant installed in a handful of stores.