When compared to the energy used at other supermarkets, Fresh & Easy’s 130 stores use roughly 32 percent less energy per square foot, according to Verisae, which sold the grocery chain a suite of sustainability software.
Verisae (Minneapolis) estimates the reduced energy usage will result in about $3 million in savings a year for the company.
Steve Hagen, director of procurement, engineering and maintenance for Fresh & Easy (El Segundo, Calif.), attributes the energy drop to the software program and the stores’ use of LED lighting and prismatic insulated skylights. The result is about 30 gigawatt hours less energy used a year in stores. He adds that the retailer is also trying to reduce its refrigerant use by decreasing the leak rate to less than 10 percent.
In September, Fresh & Easy opened its first LEED gold certified store, located in Cathedral City, Calif. The grocery chain is the U.S. subsidiary of U.K.-based Tesco.