Giant Food Store Receives LEED Certification at Sixth Location

LEWISBERG, Pa. — On Aug. 30, Giant Food Stores, a grocery retailer with headquarters in Carlisle, Pa., received LEED certification at its Lewisberg store. This is the sixth Giant Food store to achieve LEED certification.

The Lewisberg store opened on Aug. 7 and was designed by Scottsbluff, Neb.-based Baker &Associates. Ephrata, Pa.-based Ames Construction was responsible for construction. Giant Food Stores declined to release the cost of the project but construction began in November 2014 and the 66,000-square-foot project was completed in August 2015.

The grocery store chain is currently working to improve the sustainability of their stores by increasing their use of green technology and features that will lower energy-related costs. The grocery retailer operates 194 locations and first opened in 1923.

“Giant is proud to invest in sustainable retailing technologies to reduce waste and save energy and lessen our environmental impact,” said Tom Lenkevich, president of Giant Food in a statement. “This includes utilizing green building technologies on newer stores such as Lewisburg, and making existing stores more energy-efficient, including replacing open refrigerated food cases with closed doors.”

Sustainable features allow a better use of natural light through skylights and LED lighting systems. Low-maintenance landscaping and low-flow toilets were also installed to lessen the building’s demand for water.

Heated conncrete floors were installed to help reduce the cost of heating the building as well as the use of chemical-based cleaning solutions. Non-toxic paints and construction materials were used during the building process to reduce construction worker’s and shopper’s risks of being exposed to unnecessary chemicals. Recycled and local materials were also used during the construction process, according to a statement.

“We’re big on energy conservation across the company,” said Jihad Rizkallah, vice president of responsible retailing in a statement. “We have made, and continue to make, major investments in renewable energy sources.”

In 2014, Giant Food Stores was named retailer of the year by progressive grocer. Since then, the company has only been more inspired to initiate energy-efficient practices in their stores nationwide.