By: David Lester, General Manager
The results are in and the news is good. Oneota Community Co-op has been submitting data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program since 2010 when we became an Energy Star certified building. In 2017, we reduced our overall energy usage by almost 6% compared to the previous year and it was our lowest year of energy use since 2012.
In our Ends statements, we clearly state that we will be “a business that promotes environmental and financial sustainability.” Reducing our energy use is just one of the many ways we try to accomplish this End statement. Other practices include trying to achieve zero food waste through extensive composting in our kitchen and produce prep areas and purchasing packaging products that are 100% recyclable and eliminate any toxic trespass into the products we sell.
Source EUI (source energy divided by the property square feet) is the total amount of raw fuel that is required to operate your property. We saw a 5.9% reduction in source EUI compared to 2016. Total GHG Emissions Intensity (greenhouse gas emissions) was reduced in the store by 6.1% compared to 2016.
On the energy cost side of things, we reduced the cost to operate the Co-op by 2.4%. We have less control over this metric due to fluctuating fuel and energy costs in the marketplace.
But, probably the most exciting metric to see was our Energy Star Building Score went up three points to 96/100. We remain the highest rated grocery store in the state of Iowa and are dedicated to keep seeking ways to reduce the impact our store has on the environment.
Some of the reasons we reduced our overall energy usage this past year was due to purchasing newer, more efficient equipment and servicing our existing equipment on a more scheduled basis. Fine-tuning our HVAC equipment and implementing other energy-saving practices in the store also contributed to achieving a lower impact on our environment. It was one of the warmest years on record and it will be a challenge to reduce our energy needs in a store that requires a lot of refrigeration needs, but we are up for the challenge and will continue to find ways to meet this important piece of our business.
