BATAVIA, IL - ALDI’s ambitious sustainability strategies continue to take root, resulting in tactical gains for the retail chain. The grocer recently gained recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) GreenChill Store Certification Program for its leadership in reducing refrigerant emissions for the sixth consecutive year, signaling the company’s success when its comes to sustainability initiatives.

“Between our smaller store footprints, removal of plastic shopping bags at check out, and natural refrigeration, ALDI makes thousands of intentional decisions to keep our environmental footprint low,” said Dan Gavin, ALDI’s Vice President of National Real Estate. “Natural refrigerants not only help us keep our products fresh but also reduce our impact on the planet. This latest recognition from the EPA further demonstrates how ALDI is working to make sustainability affordable and accessible for all."

The EPA awarded 164 ALDI stores in 23 states with GreenChill Store Re-Certification Excellence, recognizing these locations for five consecutive years of platinum level certifications. As the company shared in a press release, ALDI secured more EPA certifications at the platinum level—the highest certification—than all participating U.S. grocery retailers for the third year in a row.

ALDI announced an ambitious goal earlier this year to transition to natural refrigerants across all U.S. stores before the end of 2035. As of today, more than 700 ALDI stores nationwide use environmentally friendly refrigerants, helping ALDI save 60 percent of potential carbon emissions each year and accelerating the retailer’s goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions across its value chain by 2050.

Through the GreenChill Program, retailers like ALDI maintain refrigerant emissions rates that are approximately half the industry average, resulting in a significant benefit to the environment, the release went on to note.

“ALDI should be very proud of their achievements over the last year,” said Bella Maranion, Senior Advisor in EPA's Stratospheric Protection Division and member of the GreenChill team. “ALDI achieved more GreenChill Store Recertifications than any other retailer, with 164 stores reaching 5 years of certification. These stores are included among the 611 ALDI stores certified this year, displaying the retailer’s commitment to driving industry innovation.”

A full deep-dive into ALDI’s operational sustainability strategies can be viewed here. Be sure to keep clicking on ANUK as more retail news comes down the pipeline.