U.S. Green Building Council commends Ahold USA for green-building initiative

CARLISLE, Pa. — Ahold USA now has the largest number of stores that have received leadership in energy and environmental design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the supermarket operator said Tuesday.

Ahold USA, the U.S. division of Netherlands-based Royal Ahold, said six newly constructed stores had received LEED certification. They include four stores in the Stop & Shop New England and New York Metro divisions, one in the Giant-Landover division and one in the Giant-Carlisle division. The stores feature white roofs to reflect sunlight and reduce heat gain, skylights to collect daylight and LED lighting.

"We congratulate and commend Ahold for their leadership as an LEED Volume partner," USGBC president, CEO and chairman Rick Fedrizzi said. "With each new LEED-certified building, we get one step closer to USGBC's vision of a sustainably built environment within a generation."

So far, the company has 56 stores that have LEED certification for existing buildings.

"By utilizing these innovative green building technologies, we are building all new stores across our retail divisions according to the LEED standards to reduce our environmental impact in the communities we serve for future generations," Ahold USA VP responsible retailing Jihad Rizkallah said.