White Lake Kroger Store Earns ENERGY STAR Certification

The following is a press release from Kroger.

Kroger confirmed its commitment to boost energy efficiency in its stores with the awarding of ENERGY STAR certification to the Clarkston, Orion Township, West Bloomfield and White Lake Kroger locations. The store addresses are: 9741 Dixie Highway, Clarkston; 3097 Baldwin Rd., Orion Township; 4805 Haggerty Rd., W. Bloomfield; and 10805 Highland Rd., White Lake.

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy to help Americans save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. The Clarkston, Orion Township, West Bloomfield and White Lake locations are among 24 Kroger Michigan stores that received the ENERGY STAR designation.

“Kroger is a frontrunner in the grocery industry when it comes to energy conservation and sustainability,” said Rick Going, president, The Kroger Co. of Michigan. “Energy updates save Kroger money, which, in turn, we pass along to our customers in the form of lower prices.”

Energy updates in the Clarkston, Orion Township, West Bloomfield and White Lake stores and other Kroger locations include skylights, LED lighting and a specially designed computer system that monitors and controls energy usage throughout the facilities. LED lighting installed in glass door cases, fresh meat cases and back room coolers and freezers uses 75 percent less energy than fluorescent lighting. LED lamps offer a longer life and will not dim as they age as do fluorescent lamps.

Kroger is also saving energy with motion sensors that turn lights on when a customer approaches an aisle and shuts them off when the aisle is empty.

“Energy efficient equipment installed throughout our stores reduces our carbon footprint and creates a more pleasing shopping environment for customers,” Going said. “Replacing floodlights with spotlights in certain areas—such as the produce department—decreases energy consumption and makes food and other merchandise brighter and more appealing.”

The Kroger Co. of Michigan’s conservation efforts are part of a corporate-wide commitment to reduce energy consumption based on customer requests for environmentally friendly stores. On a national level, Kroger has reduced energy consumption in its stores by 32 percent since 2000, saving the company more than $100 million in energy costs each year.

Kroger recently received the “Galaxy” Star of Energy Efficiency, the Alliance to Save Energy’s top award. The Alliance to Save Energy is a nonprofit organization that promotes energy efficiency worldwide through research, education and advocacy.

The EPA has helped thousands of businesses and organizations save energy, reduce costs and prevent greenhouse gas emissions through ENERGY STAR. With assistance from this program, Americans saved enough energy in 2010 to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 33 million cars while reducing their utility bills by nearly $18 billion.

For more information about Kroger’s sustainability efforts, visit http://sustainability.kroger.com