Hy-Vee Inc., an Iowa-based, employee-owned grocery chain, has taken the concept of “green grocer” to a new level as it opens its first store in Wisconsin.

The company has loaded sustainable features into the $16 million, 90,670-square-foot supermarket it opened on Madison’s east side this fall. And the supermarket is seeking to become the first grocery store in the state to be LEED certified.
Hy-Vee also will seek LEED certification for a second supermarket it plans to open at Westgate Mall on Madison’s west side in 2010.

Why undergo the extra administrative work and expense to apply for LEED certification?
It’s an outgrowth of the company’s emphasis on healthy living and sustainability, says Michael Smith, Hy-Vee’s director of sustainability since 2006.

“It’s our first attempt at LEED certification,” Smith says. “We’ll take a look at how it works administratively. One of the questions we’ll ask is whether the money spent getting certification could be spent more effectively on projects.”

Darren Baty, assistant vice president — operations, who oversees the Madison stores, adds, “[Green] is where the world’s going. It’s a continuation of a lot of things we’ve done for a long time.”

For instance, the Madison store is built on the site of an old K-Mart and existing walls were used in the new structure. That’s typical of Hy-Vee, which has built many of its more than 225 stores in seven Midwestern states at urban locations using existing infrastructure.

Hy-Vee also has encouraged customers and employees to use alternative transportation. In keeping with this approach, the Madison store is located on public transit routes, has ample bike racks and showers/changing rooms for employees who bike or walk to work. The parking lot has designated spaces for fuel-efficient and low-emitting autos.

While the company works to increase energy efficiencies in other stores, the  Madison store is the first to use skylights to illuminate the sales floor, says Bree Cooper, a LEED-AP certified engineer for the company. These and other windows will provide natural light for 75 percent of the sales area.

Other “green” features of the supermarket include:

• Landscaping with grasses and plants native to the area to eliminate the need for  irrigation and chemical fertilizers;

• A system to capture heat from equipment to pre-heat water and air;

• A high-quality ventilation system that uses carbon dioxide monitors for automatic adjustments;

• On-site recycling of glass, plastics, cardboard and cooking grease;

• Water-conserving, low-flow, motion-activated toilets and hand sinks.

Like other Hy-Vee groceries, there is an emphasis on healthy living at the Madison store.

Hy-Vee stores also provide customers with ratings of products on the NuVal nutritional rating system. This system gives products a nutritional score from 1 to 100— with 100 being the best. The ratings consider positive factors such as fiber, protein, assorted minerals and vitamins as well as negative things such as fats, salts and artificial sweeteners.

“You’d be surprised how the NuVal scores change people’s buying habits,” Baty says.

While Hy-Vee has 56,000 employees and more than $6 billion in sales, it strives to reflect its local areas through its emphasis on store autonomy and focus on local products, according to Baty. He has been working for more than a year to develop local markets in Wisconsin. “I’m amazed at the amount of Wisconsin-made products,” he says. In May, he met with more than 200 of the state’s artisan cheese-makers to find the best cheeses for the Madson store and the Hy-Vee chain.

Hy-Vee is also reaching out to the Madison area by funding a $5,000 drip-irrigation system for Community Ground Works at Troy Gardens, a community-supported agricultural farm near the city.

By John Hill

You can contact John Hill by e-mail at jhoythill@sbcglobal.net.