Our ethical grocer of the week is Hy-Vee. Hy-Vee is U.S. based and has been around since the 1930’s. It is employee-owned by direct stockholders which include officers, store directors and executive staff members. Indirect stockholders include the more than 40,000 Hy-Vee employees who participate in The Hy-Vee and Affiliates 401(k) Plan.
Hy-Vee’s approach to sustainability is customer-centric as much as it is focused on addressing the challenge. That said, one of their sustainability missions targets store construction and design. Focusing on building stores in an environmentally responsible manner they have implemented several green features in both their new and remodeled stores.
Some of these features include concrete flooring to reduce the need to clean with chemicals. Also, where possible Hy-Vee has used recycled materials. For instance, they’ve used steel structures, foundations and concrete wall panels. They’ve also installed motion-activated toilets and faucets to reduce water consumption.
Hy-Vee has additionally made energy efficiency a top priority applying them across all sectors of their business. To boost the store’s energy performance Hy-Vee uses Low-E windows and highly reflective roofs. In addition, they use high-efficiency LED lighting in their stores and parking lots as well as auto-adjusting in-store lighting. As partners of EPA’s GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership Hy-Vee has state-of-the-art refrigeration equipment.
Then to reduce waste, Hy-Vee has a healthy list of on-going efforts. Thus, they have a food diversion program to compost. They also have store recycling for both customers and as an in-house practice.
Hy-Vee is also working to source products from more suppliers who are eco-responsible. Meanwhile, Hy-Vee has committed to finding ways to use sustainable packaging on branded items while pursuing more efficient packaging for private label products.
Though Hy-Vee has a long way to go to being as sustainable as they can be it’s good to see that they have taken some steps in the right direction. Like many other grocers, we look forward to them taking more aggressive measures in the near future.
What do you think of our ethical grocer of the week, Hy-Vee? Have you been there? If so, what about your shopping experience impressed you the most?
