Sustainability award
(November 2006) — Congratulations to Lori Ross, PCC's director of store development, who was honored as "Finalist" in the "Facility Operator/Manager" category of the 2006 BetterBricks Awards competition. BetterBricks is an initiative of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, an organization dedicated to making energy-efficient products available in the Northwest.
At the award ceremony with 200 design industry leaders, Ross was honored for integrating sustainable building practices and energy efficiency into new PCC locations. PCC Fremont, for instance, has solar panels, photocells and occupancy sensors to turn off lighting when unneeded.
At both the Fremont and Redmond PCC stores, hot water/HVAC systems are integrated with refrigeration installations. At Redmond, extensive natural light allows electric lighting to be controlled by sensors, and exhaust hoods operate only when they sense smoke or steam.
The result? Energy bills are down, equipment is more efficient, and PCC stores are more comfortable for customers.
The following was shared with over 200 building and design industry leaders at the award ceremony:
"Lori Ross is leading the high performance building charge at PCC stores, integrating energy efficiency into all new PCC locations and finding ways to upgrade older store locations. The result? Energy bills are down, equipment is more efficient and PCC stores are more comfortable for customers. For example, at the PCC Fremont location, the store has solar panels, photocells and occupancy sensors to turn off lighting when unneeded. At both the Fremont and Redmond PCC stores, hot water/HVAC systems are integrated with refrigeration installations. At the Redmond store, extensive daylighting allows electric lighting to be controlled by sensors, and exhaust hoods operate only when they sense smoke or steam.
"Under Lori's leadership PCC has raised the bar for food retailers to embrace sustainable business practices. She serves on the Sustainable Task Force of the PCC Board of Trustees, consulting with other co-ops and organizations to incorporate sustainable practices, and works with Sustainable Seattle's Local Multiplier Project."