H-E-B has joined the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill Partnership, strengthening its commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by continuing to invest in cutting-edge, environmentally sustainable refrigeration systems.

As part of this voluntary program, H-E-B continues its path to adopt more environmentally friendly refrigeration technologies, strategies and practices that will reduce refrigerant emissions and impact on the environment.

“H-E-B is proud to join this cutting-edge partnership, which further signifies our commitment to be strong environmental stewards,” said Winell Herron, H-E-B Group Vice President of Public Affairs, Diversity and Environmental Affairs. “This pledge demonstrates our ongoing effort to provide our customers with more than just a great place to shop, we want them to know we’re actively protecting the state we proudly call home.”

To oversee these efforts, H-E-B named Keilly Witman Director of Refrigerant Management and Sustainability. Witman launched the GreenChill Partnership and managed it during her six-year tenure in the EPA’s Stratospheric Protection Division. At H-E-B, Witman will steer refrigerant strategies and ensure the company exceeds the partnership’s standards.

“H-E-B is a fantastic company to have join EPA’s GreenChill Partnership because of their leadership in adopting advanced refrigeration technology,” said Tom Land, manager of the GreenChill Partnership.  “The GreenChill Partnership looks forward to working with H-E-B to acknowledge the company’s environmentally responsible management of their refrigeration systems.”

H-E-B has longstanding and measurable commitment to environmental sustainability and this initiative is among the many efforts the retailer has in place to reduce its impact on the communities it serves. As a two-time winner of the state’s highest environmental excellence award, the company has several stores that are LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design™) certified and has incorporated many of the same sustainable design strategies for its new stores. This includes the innovative, LEED® Gold certified H-E-B at Mueller in Austin, which was the first North American supermarket to use a whole-store propane refrigeration system.