Sprouts Farmers Market in Round Rock TX has received the Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Gold-Level Store Award for green refrigeration technology.
The Round Rock location is the first in Texas and one of just 13 grocers in the nation to achieve gold certification from the GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership, a voluntary business-government program managed by the US EPA. This partnership’s chief goal is to reduce emissions of refrigerants that damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer and contribute to global warming.
To achieve “gold” certification, a store must meet stringent environmental criteria, including these steps:
•Use refrigerants that do not damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer.
•Reduce the size of its refrigerant charge by at least 65% from the industry average.
•Reduce annual refrigerant emissions to 15% or less of total store capacity.
•Test refrigeration systems for adherence to GreenChill’s leak tightness guidelines.
Sprouts, which has 44 stores in four states, joined the GreenChill partnership in May 2009. The Round Rock store received the gold certification in December. The company contracted with another GreenChill partner, Hussman Corp, a subsidiary of Ingersoll Rand Climate Control Technologies, for work at Round Rock.
For more information, visit www.sprouts.com.
