The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday Weis Markets, headquartered in Sunbury, Pa has won EPA’s GreenChill Distinguished Partner Award for leadership in refrigerant management and helping to protect the environment from harmful pollutants.

Most refrigerants used by supermarkets, if not managed properly, contribute to climate change and harm the ozone layer, which protects people from cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation.

GreenChill is an EPA partnership that works with supermarkets to move to environmentally-friendlier refrigerants, reduce the amount of refrigerants used, and eliminate harmful refrigerant leaks.  GreenChill has 54 partners with more than 8,000 stores, representing over 20 percent of the supermarket industry.

Weis Markets was acknowledged with GreenChill’s Distinguished Partner Award that goes to the supermarket chain that has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and initiative in achieving GreenChill’s mission in the past year.

“Weis Market is to be commended for effectively managing refrigerants so they are not released and contributing to climate change,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.  “They have gone above and beyond regulatory requirements to reduce their carbon footprint on the environment.”

With corporate offices in Sunbury, Weis Markets operates supermarkets throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey and New York.  Along with the Distinguished Partner Award, Weis Markets also received a Superior Goal Achievement Award for achieving its annual GreenChill refrigerant emission reduction goal.

In 2012, EPA estimated that if supermarkets nationwide reduced their emissions to the GreenChill average emissions rate, the industry would eliminate the equivalent of 22 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year - - the equivalent of removing 4.3 million cars from the road.

For more information, visit EPA’s GreenChill Partnership webpage.

9/16/2013