SUNBURY, Pa. — Weis Markets here is pursuing two new environmental initiatives under the auspices of a regional Environmental Protection Agency umbrella program.
Weis plans to participate in the EPA’s SmartWay and WasteWise programs under the Sustainability Partnership, an initiative launched by the EPA’s mid-Atlantic Region III division in 2009 to serve as an umbrella in that region for all of the EPA’s voluntary programs. (The region includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.)
This umbrella concept is not offered by the EPA's other regional offices or on a national basis, though the latter is under consideration, said David Iacono, manager, Sustainability Partnership.
Weis was already a member of the EPA's GreenChill refrigeration and Energy Star programs when it joined the Sustainability Partnership last December to promote “the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and lessening our carbon footprint,” as well as “reducing our energy consumption,” said Patti Olenick, sustainability specialist, Weis Markets. “We felt we could benefit from a partnership with EPA and they would in turn benefit with Weis Markets as a business partner.”
Weis is the only food retailer among 47 mid-Atlantic organizations in the partnership, said Iacono.
