Weis Markets touts sustainability certification for all stores

Weis Markets has completed Ratio Institute’s Sustainable Food Retail Certification. The company previously gained Ratio Institute certification in 2021.

With each of Weis Markets’ districts, Ratio Institute conducted in-person sustainability assessment trainings that included store managers and district leadership. Together, Ratio Institute and Weis Markets’ staff assessed sustainability practices at the retailer’s 197 stores using the performance standard established by Ratio Institute’s Sustainable Food Retail Certification program.

This benchmarking approach enabled Weis Markets, headquartered in Sunbury, Pa., to quantify the value of its existing practices, track progress over time, identify new cost-saving practices, and align its sustainability strategy with corporate initiatives. During this process, Ratio Institute collected extensive store-level data on existing and potential practices.

Ratio Institute’s analysis of the data revealed that existing sustainability practices across all stores have an annual value of $13.6 million. This translates into an average of about $69,000 in annual value per store. Existing practices have also reduced the company’s annual CO2 emissions by 392,000 metric tons — the equivalent of 85,500 passenger vehicles driven for one year.

Examples of measures yielding particularly high value also include cardboard recycling, heat recovery for water used in refrigeration, and walk-in coolers and freezers that trigger alarms when doors are left open.