Ridgefield Utilizes 100% Renewable Energy and Becomes Largest Refrigerated
Distribution Center to Achieve Gold Certification by USGBC
DAYVILLE, Conn., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Natural Foods,
Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI) ("UNFI" or the "Company") today announced that its 259,729
square foot Ridgefield, Washington distribution center has been awarded
LEED(R) (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification by
the U.S. Green Building Council ("USGBC"). Ridgefield, which serves as a
regional distribution hub for customers in Portland, Oregon and other
Northwest markets, features 54,000 square feet of cold storage making it the
first refrigerated distribution center to achieve Gold certification by the
USGBC.
"We have successfully begun implementing a number of environmental
construction initiatives over the past few years and the prestigious LEED(R)
Gold certification for environmentally responsible design of our Ridgefield
facility is a significant milestone for our organization and all of our
Associates," commented Steve Spinner, UNFI's President and Chief Executive
Officer. "We are also proud to be a company committed to improving
shareholder return while demonstrating a long term dedication to
sustainability and our environment."
LEED(R) is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction
and operation of high performance green buildings and is a voluntary third
party rating system administered by the USGBC. The council recognizes
environmental sustainability in different categories, such as building
materials, energy efficiency, water savings and indoor environmental quality.
"UNFI is to be commended for achieving LEED(R) Gold certification. This
facility is one that both the community and its customers can be proud of,"
said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO, Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building
Council. "UNFI's Ridgefield facility will be a showcase for high-performance,
energy-efficient distribution center, and an inspiration for others."
Environmentally Sustainable Building Practices
UNFI began exploring LEED(R) certification at its Ridgefield facility
prior to construction and created a design based on Green Building best
practices. Some of the environmentally focused initiatives used during
development include building materials that were composed of a minimum 30%
recycled content, low or zero-VOC emitting paint materials and carpets made
from 100% recyclable materials. Furthermore, all wood products were selected
from FSC ("Forest Stewardship Council") suppliers and 95% of construction
waste was diverted from local landfills.
The Company partnered with ARCO Design/Build of Atlanta, GA to provide
sustainable design and site planning for the distribution center and
collaborated with leading LEED(R) consultant ReVision Architecture, who
specializes in sustainable design and architecture.
"UNFI has a long-standing commitment to environmentally sustainable
practices and should be applauded for having the first, and largest, Cold
Storage distribution center certified LEED(R) NC Gold," commented Jake M.
Stefan, Division Manager at ARCO Design/Build. "It has been a pleasure to
partner with UNFI over the last six years and assisting with the
implementation of economical, Green best practices within their distribution
network."
Ridgefield Utilizes 100% Renewable Energy
Commencing operations in December 2007, the Ridgefield facility utilizes
high-performance environmentally-friendly systems that reduce energy use by
30% when compared to a typical building of the same size. The facility is
powered by 100% renewable energy, which avoids four million pounds of carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions annually, and features motion-activated water sensors
and flow controls, reducing water use by over 40%.
Additionally, the Company's irrigation techniques and storm drain plans
were designed to avoid erosion, minimize containments entry and reduce
irrigation needs by 50%. Consistent with initiatives at all of UNFI
distribution centers, the Company's Ridgefield associates apply sustainability
practices including using high-recycled products, conservationism as well as
waste reduction.
"The promotion of environmentally responsible business practices is
central to our corporate philosophy and we are extremely pleased to have
received this Gold certification," commented Tom Dziki, UNFI's Vice President
of Sustainable Development. "At Ridgefield, we were focused on creating a
healthy, productive place to work while simultaneously reducing our
environmental footprint."
UNFI's Ridgefield facility has also recently been recognized by the Clark
Public Utilities and Bonneville Environmental Foundation for its "Green
Lights" support of renewable forms of electricity in the Northwest. The
program was designed to generate more wind, solar, geothermal and other forms
of pollution-free power and displace more environmentally harmful power
sources.
The Company implements sustainability practices throughout its nationwide
distribution network and is pursuing LEED(R) certification for its newest
distribution center, a 675,000 square foot facility located in York,
Pennsylvania. Additionally, over the last 16 months, the Company has
installed major solar electric systems on the rooftops of their Rocklin,
California and Dayville, Connecticut distribution centers. UNFI has the
largest warehouse capacity of any distributor in the natural products industry
with approximately 6.2 million square feet of space at 20 distribution centers
nationwide.
To learn more about UNFI's long standing commitment to the environment and
the sustainable initiatives at its Ridgefield, Washington facility please
visit http://www.unfi.com/LEED_Ridgefield.aspx.
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc. (www.unfi.com) carries and distributes more
than 60,000 products to more than 17,000 customers nationwide. The Company
serves a wide variety of retail formats including conventional supermarket
chains, natural product superstores, independent retail operators and the food
service channel. United Natural Foods, Inc. was ranked by Forbes in 2005 as
one of the "Best Managed Companies in America," ranked by Fortune in 2006 and
2007 as one of its "Most Admired Companies," ranked by Business Ethics as one
of its "100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2006" and winner of the Supermarket
News 2008 Sustainability Excellence Award.
For more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's
website at www.unfi.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding the Company's business
that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve
risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties,
which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to general business
conditions, the impact of competition and our dependence on principal
customers, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q
filed with the Commission on December 10, 2008, and its other filings under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any forward-looking
statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. The Company is not
undertaking to update any information in the foregoing reports until the
effective date of its future reports required by applicable laws. Any
projections of future results of operations should not be construed in any
manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. These projections
are subject to change and could differ materially from final reported results.
The Company may from time to time update these publicly announced projections,
but it is not obligated to do so.
SOURCE United Natural Foods, Inc.
CONTACT:
AT THE COMPANY:
Mark Shamber, Chief Financial Officer,
+1-860-779-2800; or
FINANCIAL RELATIONS BOARD,
Joseph Calabrese, General
Information, +1-212-827-3772
Web Site: http://www.unfi.com
(UNFI)