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Hannaford eyes 100% renewable energy use by 2024

President Mike Vail calls initiative ‘important leap forward in our sustainability journey’

Russell Redman

April 15, 2022

3 Min Read
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Currently, Hannaford operates at 30% renewable energy by partnering with over 30 community solar projects in Maine, Massachusetts and New York.Hannaford

New England grocer Hannaford Supermarkets aims to power its operations completely by renewable energy by 2024.

Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford said yesterday that, to cut energy consumption and improve the way it currently use energy, the chain has implemented energy-efficiency projects such as LED lights, night shades, doors on cases and modern refrigeration systems, as well as rooftop solar panels on 10 of its stores.

Currently, Hannaford operates at 30% renewable energy by partnering with more than 30 community solar projects in Maine, Massachusetts and New York, the retailer said. Part of Ahold Delhaize USA, the grocer operates 184 stores, most with full-service pharmacies, in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

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Inside stores, Hannaford has boosted energy efficiency through such efforts as LED lights, night shades on coolers, doors on cases and modern refrigeration systems.

“Doing what’s right for our business includes doing what’s right for our associates, community and our planet. Powering Hannaford with 100% renewable energy sources will make an immediate, positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions,” Hannaford Supermarkets President Mike Vail said in a statement. “This is an important leap forward in our sustainability journey, and one that we hope sparks others to join. Prioritizing the health of our communities and the planet is a win for us all.”

Hannaford noted that, since the start of the decade, the chain has worked to lower its energy consumption (click to see video) and converted 86.4 megawatts of its remaining electricity usage to solar, or enough electricity to power 16,000 typical homes for a year. The grocer added that it plans to couple its energy-savvy upgrades and conversions with integrating community and large-scale solar projects in Maine and New York to drive stores to the 100% renewable energy goal by 2024.

Related:Hannaford’s latest innovations on display at new store in Rome, N.Y.

“Hannaford has always been serious about sustainability, and over time, it’s become an integral business function. But there is a sense of urgency as we witness the planet in the midst of a climate crisis,” according to George Parmenter, sustainability manager at Hannaford. “Hannaford wants to lead where we can make the most impact, and renewable energy is just another step in our journey.”

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Hannaford's George Parmenter (right) shows Ratio Institute's Peter Cooke (left) an energy-saving night shade on a refrigerated display.

As part an Ahold Delhaize USA brand, Hannaford already has committed to be a net-zero carbon business by 2040, and the chain said its shift to 100% renewable energy marks one step toward that end. Other sustainability efforts, the retailer said, include the following:

• The nation’s first grocery retailer to introduce reusable bags to its customers in the mid-1980s.

• North America’s first LEED Platinum supermarket in Augusta, Maine, in 2009 for eco-friendly, energy-saving features that use about half the energy requirements of similar grocery stores.

Related:Hannaford’s new remodels focus on fresh

• Installation of a first-in-the-nation refrigeration system using an eco-friendly natural refrigerant, earning Hannaford a “Best of the Best” award from the U.S. EPA Green Chill Partnership in 2013.

• Introducing and expanding electric vehicle charging stations to parking areas, for a total of 163 plugs at 31 stores across the Northeast.

•  In 2021, the first large-scale supermarket chain in its marketplace to achieve zero food waste-to-landfill by donating or diverting all food at risk of going to waste.

“Hannaford is light years ahead of the rest of the industry when it comes to their sustainability efforts, and they’ve been doing so for well over a decade,” stated Peter Cooke, co-founder of the Ratio Institute, an independent, nonprofit focusing on sustainability and viability in food retail. Hannaford said Cooke has worked with more than 1,000 grocery stores and 15 grocery chains as part of his Grocery Stewardship work. “Hannaford associates continue to rally behind making the company more sustainable,” he added, “and that is an advantage to their current and future success in making the planet healthier and greener.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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