Wegmans awarded green building honor

Portland -- The Green Building Initiative (GBI) announced that Wegmans Food Markets has been awarded a “two Green Globes” certification for its store in Germantown, Md. Green Globes, which is administered in the United States by the GBI, awards buildings that qualify one through four Globes based on environmental achievements in management, site, energy, water, materials and resources, emissions, and indoor environment.



The newly released version of Green Globes for New Construction incorporates specific refrigeration criteria as outlined by EPA’s GreenChill Certification for grocery stores.



“We are pleased to be recognized by GBI for our efforts to mitigate the environmental impacts of building our Germantown, Maryland store,” said Kevin Marren, Wegmans project manager in store planning. “Our new store design is consistent with our corporate goals of reducing energy consumption and minimizing our carbon footprint while giving our customers and employees a healthy indoor environment to work and shop in.”



Wegmans achieved points within the energy section of the Green Globes tool by a variety of methods, including the use integrated daylight sensors with the lighting fixtures in the general seating area, the café, and in the general merchandise areas where there is natural light from skylights or windows. Depending on the amount of natural light in the areas, the sensors will lower or turn off sections of lighting.



In addition, a building automation system monitors the equipment in the store and alerts Wegmans via email that there are energy spikes when problems occur. Another innovative, energy efficient measure is the usage of a heat exchanger that collects and captures heat from the refrigeration system; in turn this reused heat helps generate hot water within the building.



The Green Building Initiative is a nonprofit organization and ANSI Standards Developer dedicated to accelerating the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches. Founded in 2004, the organization is the U.S. provider of the Green Globes and Guiding Principles Compliance building certification programs.