Weis Markets lands food retail sustainability certification

Regional grocer Weis Markets has earned the Sustainable Food Retail Certification from the nonprofit Ratio Institute.

Santa Cruz, California-based Ratio Institute, an independent organization focused on driving sustainability and viability in food retailing, said the designation signifies that Weis Markets’ sustainability practices demonstrate significant environmental and economic benefits. The Mid-Atlantic supermarket chain had previously received Ratio Institute certification in 2021.

Within each of the retailer’s regional districts, Ratio Institute held in-person sustainability assessment trainings that included store managers and district leadership. Together, Ratio Institute and Weis Markets’ staff evaluated sustainability practices at the chain’s 197 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia and Virginia using the performance standard set by the Sustainable Food Retail Certification program, the institute said.

During the process, the Ratio Institute gathered extensive store-level data on existing and potential practices, allowing Weis Markets to quantify the value of its current practices, monitor progress over time, identify new cost-saving measures and better align sustainability strategy with corporate initiatives.

Ratio Institute said its data analysis showed that sustainability practices across all Weis Markets stores generated an annual value of $13.6 million, which translates into an average of about $69,000 per store. These practices also cut the grocer’s annual CO2 emissions by 392,000 metric tons, or about the same as the emissions from 85,500 passenger vehicles driven for one year.

“When it comes to sustainability, Weis Markets aims for continuous improvement,” John Lerch, senior director of energy and facility maintenance at Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based Weis Markets, said in a statement. “Since 2008, we’ve reduced our annual CO2 emissions by 57%, including a 4% reduction over the last year. Our ongoing participation in Ratio Institute’s certification program helps us prioritize new measures and build on these gains in a systematic, efficient manner.”

Other examples of the retailer’s sustainability measures yielding especially high value, the Ratio Institute reported, include cardboard recycling, heat recovery for water used in refrigeration, and walk-in coolers and freezers that trigger alarms when doors are left open.

“Weis Markets continues to make great strides in its sustainability practices and operations,” stated Peter Cooke, co-founder of the Ratio Institute. “Among its numerous sustainability achievements is its industry-leading refrigerant leak rate of 8%—well below the grocery industry’s average leak rate of 25%. Through its impressive track record, the retailer has demonstrated how prioritizing sustainability drives improvement in performance, efficiency, and value.”