Aldi to transition to natural refrigerants chain-wide
Aldi is doubling down on its sustainability commitment with an ambitious new goal.
The discount grocer will transition to natural refrigerants across all its U.S. stores before the end of 2035. Beginning this year, Aldi will purchase environmentally friendly refrigerants for all new and remodeled stores, and replace the current refrigerants in existing stores with refrigerants that have low global warming potential. The new goal builds on Aldi’s use of environmentally friendly refrigerants in more than 600 stores.
Citing its rapid growth across the country, Aldi said it will deploy a purchasing strategy that incorporates the best refrigerant solution for each region’s distinct climate. The strategy includes both carbon dioxide and propane refrigerants, and two ultra-low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants.
Plastic Bags
In addition, Aldi announced it has met its goal to remove all plastic shopping bags by the end of 2023, becoming the first major U.S. retailer to eliminate plastic shopping bags from its more than 2,300 stores. The decision to remove the bags will prevent nearly 4,400 tons, or nearly 9 million pounds of plastic, from going into circulation each year, the company said.
“As one of America’s fastest-growing retailers, we take our responsibility to lead the industry in sustainability seriously, so our customers don't have to choose between shopping responsibly and saving money,” said Jason Hart, CEO, ALDI. “Eliminating plastic shopping bags from our stores and transitioning to environmentally friendly refrigerant systems not only help us protect the environment, but they also help reduce costs which we then pass on to our customers. These decisions help our customers feel good about shopping at ALDI and our employees feel proud to work here.”
In 2023, ALDI once again received the EPA’s GreenChill Store Certification Excellence recognition for its environmentally friendly refrigeration practices, achieving the most certifications at the platinum level of all participating U.S. grocery retailers.
The EPA also awarded 109 ALDI stores in 17 states with GreenChill Store Re-Certification Excellence, recognizing these locations for five consecutive years of platinum level certifications. Through this program, GreenChill food retailers like ALDI maintain emissions rates that are approximately half the industry average, resulting in a significant benefit to the environment.
“Aldi continually shows its commitment to the environment by minimizing refrigerant emissions at stores, including the 109 stores that have been re-certified in 2023 for the fifth year in a row at the platinum level,” said Cindy Newberg, stratospheric protection division director at the EPA. “Aldi is leading the way with over 600 GreenChill certified stores, a GreenChill record!”