New Seasons Market takes a long-term approach to running their business. That’s one reason why they recently partnered with the Energy Trust of Oregon to complete a thorough company energy audit of all nine stores, focused on electricity, gas and water usage. This baseline assessment allowed New Seasons Market the opportunity to establish measurable goals toward continued energy efficiency.

Company president Lisa Sedlar agrees. “We partnered with the Energy Trust of Oregon and Portland General Electric to help us figure out more energy-efficient options for our stores. Their expertise and suggestions were useful in helping us decrease our carbon footprint — and they helped us to save money as well!”

Audit priority number one? The refrigerators and reach-in freezers at New Seasons Market’s Sellwood store were old and inefficient. The company replaced them with high-efficiency models that are estimated to save more than 115,000 kW annually — a big chunk of the store’s annual electricity use. Their carbon footprint will decrease by almost 90 tons per year, and the new units run better.

As for the Save More, Matter More energy-efficiency campaign? New Seasons Market also generously donated $1,000 of groceries to the winners of the Spot the Sticker contest — right before the holiday season. Just another example of how the employees of New Seasons Market give back to the communities they serve.

What’s next? For New Seasons Market, business decisions are made based on more than just dollars and sense. “Sustainability is an ongoing process — one that started before the doors of the first store even opened” Sedlar explains. Each of their nine Portland-area stores has a “Green Team” made up of very passionate staff members. Green Teams work on projects like improving recycling, energy efficiency and waste reduction. As an early supporter of the Save More, Matter More campaign, Sedlar and the New Seasons Green Teams will continue to look at ways to achieve energy-efficiency savings in each of the store locations.