IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Stater Bros. will cut its energy use in half during the next two months at its 168 Southern California supermarkets.
The reductions will happen between noon and 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, the stores’ peak hours of energy use, the San Bernardino-based supermarket chain announced Wednesday.
A start date was not announced, but Stater Bros. is taking the action voluntarily, according to a statement.
The cuts will reduce electricity use by 350,000 kilowatt hours per month, enough to power 350 homes for one month. The move will also reduce the possibility of blackouts and brownouts.
“We want our customers to know that we are reducing our store energy usage because we are committed to improving the environment in the communities we serve and live in,” said Jack H. Brown, Stater Bros.’ chairman and chief executive officer, in the statement.
Stater Bros., which has been recognized the past two years by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for reducing emissions, is undertaking several other measures designed to save energy.
It has installed closed-door cases and LED lighting on its refrigerated cases, which cuts energy use by 60 percent per case, and it has a green waste program that diverts about 40 million pounds of waste from landfills annually.
The company also recycles cardboard and plastic bags – more than 72 million pounds combined every year – and it donates more than three million pounds of food every year to local food banks, according to the statement.
Stater Bros. employs about 18,000 people, making it the largest private employer in the Inland Empire. It’s also the largest privately owned supermarket chain in Southern California.
