The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently presented Stater Bros. Markets with its GreenChill Partnership’s “Best Emissions Rate” award. The honor recognizes the supermarket chain for maintaining the lowest corporate-wide refrigerant emissions rate among large retail GreenChill partners in 2014.

Scott Limbacher, vice president construction and maintenance, Stater Bros. Markets, accepts the EPA GreenChill Award from Tom Land, GreenChill Partnership Program Manager, Stratospheric Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Photo: Stater Bros. Markets

There are approximately 10,800 GreenChill partner stores throughout the nation.  Scott Limbacher, Stater Bros. Markets’ vice president of construction and maintenance, accepted the award at the Food Marketing Institute Energy & Store Development Conference in San Diego, California on Sept. 29.

This marks the third time Stater Bros. Markets has been recognized with this distinction. In addition, three Stater Bros. supermarkets also received achievement awards for being GreenChill certified for five consecutive years.  Stater Bros. is the only Southern California grocer to have eight stores that are GreenChill certified at the gold level and one at the silver level.

Stater Bros. Markets’ other environment efforts include replacing or retrofitting in-store refrigerated cases with new glass doors that reduce energy usage by 60%, LED lighting, and an energy management system that controls refrigeration, air conditioning, and lighting. Stater Bros. also participates in California’s Voluntary Demand Response Program to reduce energy consumption at store level when demand is high.  In addition, Stater Bros. removes over 125 million pounds of waste from landfills annually through various sustainability programs.

“Stater Bros. is thrilled to be honored by the EPA for the third year in a row,” emphasized Jack H. Brown, Stater Bros. Markets’ chairman and chief executive officer.  “We are committed to protecting our environment for future generations, and what we do now matters. We’re thankful the EPA has recognized our efforts,” Brown further added.

“In earning GreenChill’s Best Emissions Rate award for the third straight year, Stater Bros. Markets is proving itself a frontrunner in environmental protection amongst supermarkets. Stater Bros. Markets is demonstrating the possibility of achieving incredibly low emissions rates over multiple years, which benefits the company’s bottom line and protects future generations,” said GreenChill Program Manager, Tom Land.

About EPA’s GreenChill Partnership

EPA’s GreenChill Partnership works with supermarkets to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the ozone layer and climate change.  The Partnership helps supermarkets transition to environmentally friendlier refrigerants; reduce harmful refrigerant emissions and adopt greener refrigerant technologies and environmental best practices.  GreenChill Partner stores throughout the nation represent about 29 percent of the U.S. supermarkets.  For more information on EPA’s GreenChill Partnership, please visitwww2.epa.gov/greenchill.

About Stater Bros. Markets

Stater Bros. Markets was founded in 1936 in Yucaipa, California, and has grown steadily through the years to become the largest privately owned Supermarket Chain in Southern California and the largest private employer in both San Bernardino County and Riverside County.  The Company currently operates 168 Supermarkets, and there are approximately 18,000 members of the Stater Bros. Supermarket Family.  For more information, go to staterbros.com.