Food Lion is One of the First Supermarkets to Introduce GreenChill Program SALISBURY, N.C., Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Food Lion LLC received the Distinguished Partner Award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday, August 18 during an awards ceremony at the Food Marketing Institute's Sustainability Summit in San Francisco. Food Lion was recognized for its commitment to deploying Advanced Refrigeration technology at new stores in its 11-state footprint. The GreenChill Partnership is an EPA cooperative alliance with the supermarket industry to promote the reduction of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas refrigerant emissions. Food Lion was one of the first grocers to voluntarily commit to the EPA's GreenChill advanced refrigeration partnership, an initiative where companies pledge to go above and beyond regulatory requirements in protecting the ozone layer and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a GreenChill partner, Food Lion has committed to ensuring all new and remodeled stores will be ozone-friendly and establishing an emissions inventory, which will be used to set emissions reduction targets; and assessing the performance of advanced technologies in its stores through industry and government research initiatives. In addition to Food Lion's GreenChill partnership, the company has furthered its commitment by incorporating advanced refrigeration systems at certain stores. Today, three Food Lion stores have incorporated new technology at its stores which incorporate ozone-friendly product refrigeration systems, which reduce by more then 60 percent the amount of refrigerants needed to keep products cool or frozen. In addition, Food Lion is currently deploying this technology at two stores under construction in Georgia and South Carolina. "We are honored to receive this award," said Susan Sollenberger, director of Energy, Maintenance and Equipment Purchasing at Food Lion LLC. "Food Lion has served as a founding member of the EPA's GreenChill Partnership since November 2007. This has been an extremely rewarding relationship. Food Lion has made great strides in deploying more environmentally friendly technologies, such as environmentally friendly refrigerants. Practicing energy conservation and taking steps toward protecting and preserving the environment is a foundational element to our company, and we will continue to further our efforts in this area." Keilly Witman, from the EPA, presented the award to Food Lion during a lunch presentation. Wayne Rosa, Energy & Maintenance manager, accepted the award on behalf of Food Lion. "Food Lion was a strong supporter of GreenChill's mission right from the beginning," said Witman. "They pioneered technologies that have since become widespread in the industry. Whether it is case studies on new refrigerants or statistics from sub-metering on refrigeration systems that use advanced technologies, Food Lion is always ready to share information so others can benefit from their experience." In addition to serving as an EPA GreenChill partner, Food Lion was one of EPA's first ENERGY STAR partners and has 916 certified stores, which is more than half of the ENERGY STAR certified stores in the United States. In addition, Food Lion is the only grocery chain to win eight consecutive EPA ENERGY STAR awards. "Through our environmental and energy-saving initiatives, the company can make an immediate and positive impact in local communities by making our stores more environmentally friendly," added Sollenberger. "We are a leader in energy reduction initiatives and environmental stewardship. For nearly a decade, Food Lion has been dedicated to numerous sustainability initiatives, such as energy conservation and reducing carbon dioxide emissions throughout our footprint. We have reduced our energy consumption by more than 27 percent since 2000." About Food Lion LLC Food Lion LLC is a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group (NYSE: DEG). Food Lion LLC operates more than 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's. These stores meet local customer needs and preferences for the freshest and best quality products. Food Lion LLC employs approximately 74,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. DATASOURCE: Food Lion LLC CONTACT: Christy Phillips-Brown of Food Lion LLC, +1-704-633-8250 ext. 2221, Web Site: http://www.foodlion.com/

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