Whole Foods, Aldi’s and Publix are among the grocery stores across the US adopting Green Globes for green building certification, according to the Green Building Initiative (GBI), which administers the program.
The properties also include New Seasons Markets in Oregon, and Price Chopper, Harris Teeter and Wegmans stores across the country.
New Seasons — the first B-Corp grocer in the world — says Green Globes certification helps validate the company’s sustainability story.
To date, nearly 50 Whole Foods stores have been certified or are now in the Green Globes process. In 2013 Whole Foods expanded its sustainability efforts by taking its first existing building through Green Globes, a store in Portland, Ore., which earned a Three Green Globes Rating.
The Green Globes certification process also incorporates the EPA’s GreenChill Store Certification Program for Food Retailers, which recognizes individual stores for using environmentally friendlier commercial refrigeration systems. Stores also can achieve certification under GreenChill itself.
Last month, GBI launched a rating tool for eco-friendly interior designers and architects, called Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors.