EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has announced that it has joined the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) volume certification pilot program.
Fresh & Easy is one of a small number of companies selected as a pilot member of the LEED volume certification program, allowing the company to certify multiple buildings with the LEED rating system in a streamlined process, it said. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a rating tool that evaluates a building's approach to sustainability through energy [image-nocss] efficiencies, site development, water savings, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
The LEED Volume Certification program streamlines the certification process for companies that are building multiple but similar facilities and that want to do this in an environmentally responsible manner, while still growing at the speed and scale necessary in today's business market, said Doug Gatlin, director of LEED national accounts.
Fresh & Easy estimates its buildings will reduce energy output by approximately 30% compared to a typical grocery store. This is equivalent to decreasing CO2 emissions by 940,000 pounds per store or taking 92 passenger cars off the road for one year.
Designing green buildings makes sense, said Fresh & Easy CEO Tim Mason. When we sat down to design Fresh & Easy stores, one of our first considerations was to make sure they were sustainable. It is important to our employees, our customers and our neighborhoods for us to reduce our emissions and our footprint on the environment.
Some highlights of Fresh & Easy's 'green' buildings include:
Skylights on new buildings with overhead lighting that dims automatically. Increased insulation reducing need for heating and air conditioning. Night shades on refrigeration cases to keep cool air from escaping. Hybrid parking spaces and bike racks for employees and customers. In-store recycling available for employees and customers. Secondary-loop system on refrigeration cases designed to capture and reuse cool air. LED lighting in external signage and freezer cases, reducing energy use.Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets will begin to open stores in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona in November, the company said.
Fresh & Easy is a company of Tesco, the UK's largest retailer and one of the world's leading international retailers. Tesco operates over 2,800 stores across 12 countries.
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