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Whole Foods Market Opens Sustainability Showcase Store in Massachusetts

April 7, 2011

Whole Foods Market has opened a store in Dedham, Mass.,as a tool to demonstrate to customers, employees and investors leading energy conservation and sustainability practices.

Whole Foods' state-of-the-art store in Dedham, Mass.

The ground-up construction features wide array of leading energy conservation and sustainability practices in construction and operations, according to a Green Biz report, including:

• 90 percent of the store's energy needs are met by a 400kWh fuel cell and 80 kWh solar panels;
• All structural steel is made from 100 percent recycled materials;
•  Rejected heat from the store’s refrigeration is reclaimed and used to heat water;
• On-demand kitchen exhaust systems are used so systems are not running continuously when not needed;
• Daylighting techniques include use of skylights and automated lighting controls;
• 80 percent of store waste is reused;
• Grocery bags and cash register tape are made from 100 percent recycled paper;

GreenBiz coined the store as possibly “the greenest store in the world,” and lauded Whole Foods for making the investment and using the stores as a showcase for sustainability. “Seeing does lead to understanding. In the world of 100-page CSR reports and a sea of thousands of Tweets, the physical experience of a showcase facility is powerful,” Green Biz wrote.

GRD Views: If you were wondering what leadership in sustainability looks like, this is it. Not only is Whole Foods utilizing best practices, but they openly advance the adoption by others. Bravo Whole Foods. -- John Failla for Green Retail Decisions.