Climate Action at the Co-op
added 07/26/10
by Emily Neuman
Sustainability Coordinator
No company today can legitimately claim to be “green” without taking action to quickly and significantly reduce its carbon footprint. Two years ago, the Co-op committed to reducing its carbon emissions ten percent by 2012.
Climate action at the Co-op has been a three-step process. In 2004, our Co-op Board of Directors provided important leadership by making environmental sustainability a core goal of our business. Action at the Co-op’s policy level spurred action at the operational level—commitment to ten percent emissions reduction in the short term. As a second step, we took stock of our emissions. We are now measuring them on an on-going, annual basis. Lastly, we’ve identified the changes needed to achieve our 2012 goal.
Measuring our impact
To measure our carbon footprint, the Co-op tracks its electricity use, fuel use, and refrigerant losses at all locations. Because we track gallons and kilowatt-hours, not just dollars, we know that our emissions were virtually the same in 2009 as in 2007, despite our expansion at 43 Lyme Road.
In contrast, the new White River Junction store is expected to substantially increase our carbon footprint – at least in the short term. We are already looking at ways to decrease the energy load there and offset what we can’t eliminate.
Change for the better
In recent years, our Hanover and Lebanon stores have been operating in the 92nd and 84th percentiles for energy efficiency when compared to other supermarkets nationally. While their rankings were very respectable, we knew there were inefficiencies in our heating and cooling systems, and we wondered whether the building envelopes were as tight as they should be. So, in 2009, the Co-op commissioned comprehensive energy audits of the Hanover and Lebanon stores.
The audit process helped us identify the most cost-effective opportunities for improving energy efficiency at the two locations. Based on the audit results, we committed to renovations projected to reduce our carbon emissions by 228 tons annually, beginning in 2011.
The work being done this year includes major lighting retrofits in both stores, heating and cooling system renovations and optimization, and installation of better night shields on all doorless refrigerated cases.
Next steps
With the first stage of work nearly complete, it is time to figure out how to sustain the efficiencies we are gaining this year and make up for the additional emissions load we’ve taken on by adding the store in White River Junction. We also need to take a look at our Scope 3 emissions, which include employee business travel, employee commutes, and product transport.
The year 2012 will soon be upon us. We know that the work we are doing today is only a prelude to the ongoing challenge of achieving 40 tons of emissions reductions, on average, every year from 2012 to 2050. This is what scientists tell us must be done to keep the worst climate change devastation at bay. And there is no time to lose.
Join us!
We cannot wait for international treaties and national policy. Now is the time to reduce greenhouse gases in our atmosphere to safe levels. Twenty-two energy committees from around the Upper Valley are actively working toward 350ppm carbon in the atmosphere. 350.org is advocating for a Global Work Party on 10/10/10, and the Co-op will be there!
Take time to support your committee, tighten up your home for the heating season, and join an action on 10/10/10. Visit www.350.org to see what’s happening in the Upper Valley and around the world.
1. The Co-op’s goal is to reduce emissions 10% from 2007 levels. The Co-op’s carbon footprint in 2007 was 1938 metric tons CO2-equivalents. The Co-op’s goal is in keeping the 2007 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assessment that stated that an 85 percent cut in emissions by 2050 will be required in order to limit global temperature increases above 2 degrees C. More recent recommendations call for a 90-100 percent emissions reduction by 2050, with global emissions peaking no later than 2015.
