Weis Stores Get Silver GreenChill Certificates

SUNBURY, Pa. — Two Weis Markets’ stores received a “silver” certificate from the Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership for meeting tough benchmarks on cutting refrigerant emissions that harm the Earth’s protective ozone layer and contribute to global warming. 

The 62,000-square-foot stores, located in Forks Township, near Easton, Pa., and in Bellefonte, near State College, contain a new, environmentally efficient design, reducing their refrigerant charges by more than 50%.

“We achieved these results by installing more efficient refrigeration systems and cases throughout these stores and then carefully monitoring them,” said Kevin Small, Weis Markets vice president, store construction and development, in a statement. “We are grateful to be recognized as an EPA partner. We will continue to invest in programs and systems that help us reduce our overall environmental impact throughout our store base.”

To achieve silver certification, a store must reduce the size of its refrigerant charge by at least 50% from the industry average; reduce annual refrigerant emissions to 15% or less of total store capacity; test refrigeration systems for adherence to GreenChill's leak tightness guidelines; and use refrigerants that do not damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer.