Food Lion LLC Unveils Ozone-Friendly Refrigeration Technology, Announces ENERGY STAR Milestone

Business Wire, May 22, 2008

PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- Food Lion LLC today unveiled the nation's first grocery store to incorporate two ozone-friendly product refrigeration systems. Both systems reduce by more then 60 percent the amount of refrigerants needed to keep products cool or frozen.

"This is a significant step forward in our decade-old journey of environmentally friendly operations," said Kyle Mitchell, Food Lion LLC vice president of store development. "We're proud to be a leader in testing and incorporating advanced refrigeration technologies the same way we've lead the grocery industry in energy conservation strategies. Our goal is to make insightful operating choices today to protect the environment and sustain the communities in which we operate for years to come."

During the event, attended by EPA officials and grocery peers, Food Lion demonstrated the refrigeration system features, discussed energy efficient store technologies and unveiled a new biodiesel generator designed to run off cooking oils, such as those used by the store's Deli. Food Lion uses generators to help ease the demand experienced by local utilities during peak operations, such as on extremely hot days when commercial and residential air conditioners are running at their highest capacities.

Also during the event, Food Lion LLC announced that its 725th store has earned the rigorous and prestigious ENERGY STAR[R] designation for superior energy performance and management. The ENERGY STAR label helps consumers recognize stores that meet U.S. EPA standards for energy efficiency. Food Lion LLC owns more than half of the country's roughly 1,300 ENERGY STAR labeled grocery stores. The 725th ENERGY STAR store is located in Chesapeake, Va. Food Lion LLC is working to earn more than 100 ENERGY STAR labels this year in order to bring its total number of ENERGY STAR stores to 800.

Food Lion has been on the leading edge of companies - grocery stores and otherwise - putting in place measures and initiatives that reduce emissions of ozone-depleting refrigerants, test refrigeration technologies, conserve energy and support environmental sustainability.

The Portsmouth, Va., store is Food Lion's third store to use advanced refrigeration technologies - and the first to incorporate two of these systems simultaneously. The first store, in Dinwiddie, Va., opened in early 2006 with a medium temperature secondary coolant system that uses water and glycol to refrigerate products. The second store, which opened in late 2006 in Montpelier, Va., uses a low secondary coolant temperature system featuring carbon dioxide (CO2) (a naturally occurring gas) to refrigerate low-temperature food products. Both systems were created with refrigeration partner Hill PHOENIX, who is working with Food Lion to identify smarter ways to refrigerate food products using technologies that are gentler on the environment.

"The U.S. EPA's GreenChill Partnership is very proud to recognize Food Lion's continued leadership in ozone layer protection," said Dave Godwin, Acting Branch Chief in EPA's Stratospheric Protection Division. "Food Lion's environmental innovations in advanced refrigeration technology are exemplary within the supermarket industry."

This is Food Lion LLC's second year working in partnership with the U.S. EPA's GreenChill program. As one of the first companies to make the GreenChill pledge, Food Lion LLC has committed it will:

* Require all new and remodeled stores to be ozone friendly in advance of Clean Air Act phase-out requirements;

* Establish an emissions inventory of ozone-depleting substances, which will be used to set emissions reduction targets;

* Participate in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of advanced refrigeration technologies.

"Food Lion believes that a critical aspect of serving our customers is to be a responsible corporate citizen," said Glenn Dixon, Food Lion LLC's senior vice president of corporate development. "We take great pride in undertaking initiatives such as these while encouraging other retailers to follow suit."

About Food Lion LLC

Food Lion LLC, the parent of banners Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's, is a grocery leader in energy efficiency and refrigeration technologies that reduce or eliminate the use of ozone-depleting refrigerants. Food Lion LLC was one of the first grocers to commit to the U.S. EPA's GreenChill partnership and is the only grocer to win seven consecutive ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year awards.

About GreenChill

In partnership with supermarkets, and chemical and refrigeration equipment manufacturers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new partnership, dubbed GreenChill, to promote the use of retail food refrigeration technologies that reduce emissions of ozone depleting and greenhouse gas refrigerants. The program will ask supermarket partners to make several important commitments that go beyond regulatory compliance:

* Establish a refrigerant inventory and set emissions reduction targets;