Eric Block On Responsible Branding

Cub Foods recently opened a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Gold Certified grocery store in the Phalen neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Having visited the store we send big kudos to Cub.  Not only is the store a inventive and creative way of reducing the energy consumption, carbon footprint and reduced impact in construction and daily operation, but it is an excellent example of conveying the vision and possibilities to its customers.

The statitsics related to the store itself are impressive.

• 44 skylights illuminate 75% of regularly occupied spaces using a solar powered GPS system to track and re-direct sunlight.
• Parking lot lighting from LED lighting cutting energy consumption by 50 percent.
• An overall saving of 35% in lighting expense compared to the average Cub store.
• Landscape irrigation that uses 50% less water.
• 75% of building construction waste will be recycled.

But we love how Cub has used the physical environment of the store itself to provide information about every aspect of how the store is operating in a sustainable way.  The subtle signage is designed to educate Cub customers about the important facets of the store’s operations.  

Messages conveyed include how the store uses reduced refrigerant.

Use of natural light to reduce energy consumption.

How Cub uses packaging made from only 100% renewable resources.

How the overall store operates in a more energy efficient fashion.

LED refrigerator case lighting to conserve energy.

Special parking places reserved for customers driving fuel efficient vehicles.

An overall store experience which is designed to be more respectful to nature and healthy for all.

In additional to many of the customer facing aspects of the store, the new Cub also features creative, energy saving ideas in all aspects of its operation.  For employees, the Cub facility features men and women’s shower rooms for employees to encourage them to ride the bike to work and worked with the city of St. Paul to create an additional city bus route so their employees can take the bus to and from work versus driving.  The facility also features a white roof to reflect heat to reduce energy consumption and special landscaping to absorb rainfall.

All in all, we encourage everyone to visit this very special new store if you have the chance.  And we send our congratulations to the leadership of SuperValu (the parent of Cub Foods) for their courage and leadership in creating and building what we hope will become the role model for retailers everywhere.

Our thanks to the support of  Cub Foods—and in particular Lee Ann Jorgenson, Manager of Community Relations and Communications—for allowing us to fully understand and share all of what the new Cub store is doing to be respectful to its new home in the Phalen neighborhood. 

(Photos by P.J. Milan.  All rights reserved.)