EPA Honors Albertsons’ Eco-Friendly Store Brands

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has presented Albertsons Cos. Inc. with the Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award in the Retailer category for launching new Safer Choice-certified Own Brands products, which use safer chemicals. Since the inception of the EPA program in 2015, Albertsons has received the award four times.

Consumers can identify products made with chemicals that are safer for human health and the environment by the Safer Choice label that appears on the product. This label means that the EPA has evaluated the product’s ingredients and determined that they meet the necessary criteria.

“Our Own Brands team continues to innovate products that are safer for people and the environment,” said Chad Coester, SVP, Albertsons Cos. Own Brands. “In 2020, we received Safer Choice Certification on a new product category — laundry detergents. We now have six Open Nature laundry detergent products that meet the Safer Choice criteria.”

All Safer Choice Certified Open Nature products also feature a QR code on the back for easy access to more information. The six new Open Nature laundry detergent containers are recyclable, made with 25%-plus recycled plastic content and have a How2Recycle label that provides customers with clear communications on how to properly recycle the containers.

“Ensuring our products are better for people and the planet is an important priority for Albertsons Cos.,” said Darcie Renn, director of ESG and sustainability at Albertsons Cos. “These products are great examples of how we are implementing sustainability more holistically throughout our decision-making process, whether it’s innovating product formulations, integrating recycled content in packaging or leveraging standardized recycling communications for our customers.”

Albertsons’ more than 2,000 stores offer a wide variety of Safer Choice-certified products, including its private-brand Open Nature glass cleaners and laundry detergents.

In other eco-friendly news,  Albertsons is working on a huge solar project. Construction began last month on a 6.6-megawatt DC ground-mounted solar array in Norridgewock, Maine. The project is one of the first and largest commercial solar installations in the state.

Once fully operational, the system is expected to annually generate more than 8.5 million kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable energy for many of Albertsons’ Shaw’s stores throughout the Central Maine Power utility territory.

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons operates more than 2,000 retail stores with 1,700-plus pharmacies, 400 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 20 manufacturing facilities. The company’s stores predominantly operate under the Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Kings Food Markets and Haggen banners. Albertsons is No. 8 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.