Hannaford receives Climate Champion award

SCARBOROUGH, Maine An organization that promotes efforts to fight global warming has given a national environmental award to a New England supermarket chain.

Hannaford Supermarkets received Portsmouth, N.H.-based Clean Air – Cool Planet’s “Climate Champion” award at a ceremony in Boston last week.

“Hannaford Supermarkets has long been a leader in recognizing the need for action on climate change,” Clean Air – Cool Planet CEO Adam Markham said in a statement. “Its recent opening of the most environmentally advanced supermarket in the country is a capstone to this history of corporate climate action.”

Markham was referring to the chain’s new store in Augusta, Maine, which was the first supermarket to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Hannaford said the store is expected to use 59% less energy than a typical supermarket of comparable size and amenities. The chain also has installed photovoltaic solar panels at five of its stores, equipped its trucks with energy-saving technology and plans to build a wind turbine at its distribution center in Schodack, N.Y.