ShopRite of Selden, NY Achieves EPA GreenChill Silver Certification

ShopRite announced that its Selden, NY store has been awarded the GreenChill Silver Certification. This prestigious award, distributed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recognizes food retailers who have implemented sustainable cooling systems, thereby reducing refrigerant emissions and decreasing their impact on the ozone layer and climate change. The ShopRite of Selden is one of 52 national recipients of the Silver Certification and the first on Long Island to receive this distinction. The EPA’s goal in creating this award is to encourage retailers to act as partners to transition their stores to environmentally friendlier refrigerants, eliminate environmentally and financially costly refrigerant leaks and to adopt green refrigeration technologies and other environmental practices. The ShopRite of Selden, which recently opened in early October, renovated an existing space, bringing jobs and a revitalized shopping center to its Long Island community. The state-of-the-art supermarket boasts custom-built, computerized distributed refrigeration systems, which have the ability to monitor store temperatures and those of refrigerated cases throughout the store from a remote location.  Utilizing this technology to take advantage of off-peak schedules, these store-wide systems provide cost savings for the store, in addition to conserving energy and limiting emissions. The ShopRite of Selden is owned and operated by Charles Gallagher and his family. Gallagher Family Markets also includes Charles’ wife Judy and their children, along with brothers William Gallagher and James Gallagher. “We are honored to be selected with other environmentally-conscious retailers to accept this prestigious award,” said Charles Gallagher. “ShopRite has a deep-rooted investment in environmentally-friendly practices and we are grateful to be recognized as an EPA partner. We will continue to look for more ways to improve our environmental efforts in the future.” ShopRite has long been committed to sustainability in its stores. Not surprisingly, the ShopRite of Selden has many other “green” features, including energy-efficient store lighting in the form of LED lamps and T-8 bulbs, frozen and dairy display cases equipped with energy-efficient doors, as well as insulated glass in all windows to aid energy efficiency. During the renovation of the store, all of which was contracted to local, Long Island-based firms, the Gallagher family also worked closely with local power authorities to select equipment deemed of the highest standard of energy and water efficiency. All plumbing throughout the ShopRite of Selden has been retrofitted for low-water usage and specialized pan washers were installed in the bakery and prepared foods departments reducing water usage by sixty percent. Wind and night screens are installed at entryways to reduce energy used in heating and cooling, which also contributes to the comfort of the customer when entering the store during hot summer months or cold winter days. The store also features a custom white roof, which reflects roughly eighty-eight percent of the sun’s rays. Together, these features conserve energy and costs to allow an environmentally responsible shopping experience for customers, at ShopRite’s traditional low prices. Each week, the store donates excess perishable food to neighboring food pantries, keeping organic materials out of the waste stream while helping to support hunger-fighting initiatives at a local level. In addition, the ShopRite of Selden has also undertaken a significant recycling effort, working with its waste hauler to remove nearly 300 tons of paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum from the store that would otherwise end up in landfills.