Stop & Shop Celebrates 5th Anniversary Of Green Energy Facility

QUINCY, MA — Stop & Shop is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Green Energy Facility, a center that houses an anaerobic digester to convert inedible food items into energy that helps power a distribution center, said the company in a news release Monday.

The facility's anaerobic digester recreates the naturally occurring process of anaerobic digestion, which converts carbon in food material into a biogas that is used as a power source. To date, the digester has processed over 130,000 tons of inedible food, generated 25,800 megawatt-hours of electricity, and reduced CO2 emissions by 28,700 metric tons.

“Stop & Shop has set robust sustainability goals to ensure we’re making a measurable impact in terms of reducing our environmental footprint,” said Gordon Reid, President of Stop & Shop, in a statement. “We’re committed to taking bold climate action and to eliminating waste, and the Green Energy Facility is a key part of those efforts. We’re proud to celebrate 5 years – and to be a leading the way among grocery retailers.”

Stop & Shop has the following measures in place to further reduce CO2 emissions:

• Stop & Shop recycles enough cardboard to save more than 1.8 million trees annually.
• Through its recycling programs, Stop & Shop diverts approximately 75 percent of waste from going to landfills or incineration, and recycles more than 350 million pounds of material a year including plastics, cardboard, and food waste.
• Stop & Shop stores utilize automatic motion sensors and reflective roofs that reduce heat absorption during the summer, and systems that curb electric power during peak demand times.
• For every gallon of gas sold at S&S fuel locations, up to 30 percent of the emissions for those gallons are offset through investments in carbon reduction projects.

More information about Stop & Shop’s sustainability efforts can be found here.