Climate-Friendly Supermarket Scorecard Reveals Inadequate Progress by Major Retailers

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has released a report, the Climate-Friendly Supermarket Scorecard, that evaluates the use of climate-friendly technology and policies by supermarkets. The report found that only three out of sixteen companies received passing scores.

According to the EIA, eleven of the companies have less than 1% of their stores using ultra-low GWP refrigerants, which have a GWP under 10. Aldi, Whole Foods, and Target were the top performers in the report, with Aldi leading in technology adoption and having more HFC-free stores than any other competitor.

The EIA’s climate campaign director, Avipsa Mahapatra, praised companies like Aldi for publicly sharing their plans to eliminate HFCs. However, she also criticized some companies for their lack of transparency and slow adoption of HFC-free technology. She called it inexcusable in the face of the climate crisis.

Giant Eagle, Meijer, and Southeastern Grocers have yet to install HFC-free refrigeration in any stores, although some have partial installations. While Walmart has committed to eliminating all emissions including HFCs by 2040, it has only installed ultra-low GWP refrigerants in one store and has not shared specific implementation plans.

Only five of the companies evaluated disclosed their annual average leak rate