Green Is The Thing
At Price Chopper, we're committed to sustainability. We're making every effort to protect our environment.

Being green isn't just a conversation ... it's making things happen. It's doing things that protect our surroundings and use resources more effectively. Being green forces us to make things go farther and re-use anything that can be redesigned and recycled or rebuilt to do something else.

Our new store in Colonie, NY, was designed with green in mind. It's LEED Certified Silver - LEED is the agency making the rules and SILVER is the level of compliance that meets the highest standards. By doing certain things specified by LEED, we get credit points. The higher the points, the higher our LEED certification. We're excited because this benefits our customers and the environment. Let me explain some of the things we're doing:

- Skylights bring natural light inside the store, making a pleasing atmosphere and significantly reducing the amount of power required for lighting.
- The store boasts the first commercially used fuel cell in upstate New York. Tied into our generator, we're able to power the entire store if we go off the power grid during a power failure ... this is a very big deal!
- LED lighting in all refrigerated cases reduces power consumption and improves your ability to see products clearly.
- Ceiling light fixtures are an entirely new design - the F-5's - with high output ballasts, again reducing power consumption.
- Heat generated from compressors running the air conditioning, frozen and perishables systems is captured and used to heat water for sinks and some areas of the store.
- Many pieces of equipment in the store are made from recycled products ... such as the floor tiles, gondola shelving and the steel beam supports.
- All store cleaning solvents are green.
- Paint used in the store was low in volatile organic compounds.
- A biohydrator machine, which converts meat scraps and produce throw-outs into a liquid to be used as fertilizer, is in use.

These are just a few of the ideas used at this new stores. So think green!

Posted 04/15/2010 | Permalink | Share This

Save on Gas and Save the Environment
Want to do your part to help the environment and save money? Take advantage of ipool2 - a free, convenient and private carpool community that many Price Chopper associates are already using! Two Price Chopper associates in our accounting department saved a total of 926 miles in a single month through carpooling ... and they estimate they'll save 11,250 miles this year! Registration is quick and easy. Just visit www.ipool2.org to create your account and password. Enter your commute information and view your potential matches instantly! You can also take advantage of ipool2's convenient "park-and-ride lot finder" to find a free meeting place for your carpool. The site also has a great "Guaranteed Free Ride Home" program in the event of an emergency such as an illness or unexpected overtime.

Posted 04/15/2010 | Permalink | Share This

In the Works: Greener Buildings
Our new L.E.E.D. (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) office building is now open ... but did you know that we've also partnered with NYSERDA to design a new L.E.E.D.-certified store prototype that will allow us to build some of the greenest grocery stores in the country? The first store born out of this partnership is our store in Colonie, NY.

Posted 04/15/2010 | Permalink | Share This

Recent Articles
Green Is The Thing
Save on Gas and Save the Environment
In the Works: Greener Buildings
Environmental Success Stories
Shrinking Our Footprint
Recycling Is Everyday Business
Leading The Way to Wind Power
A New Generation of Stores
A Greener Office Complex
In-Store Devices Use Novel Approaches
Actions Save Energy, Earn Distinction
Eco-Friendly Refrigerant Cuts CO2
Energy Savings Could Power 568 Homes