The Whole Foods in Dedham, Mass. is bringing new meaning to the word “greengrocer.” It’s a showcase facility, which means it basically tries out all the company’s environmental best practices to see how they work in the wild. The result is a store with an inspiring combination of architectural and procedural innovations:
- The building’s steel frame is 100 percent recycled.
- A white roof reduces climate control bills and emissions.
- The building draws power from a 400 kWh fuel cell and 80 kWh solar panels, which provide 90 percent of its energy.
- Skylights reduce the need for artificial lighting.
- The kitchen exhaust systems only run on demand, not all the time.
- The store reuses 80 percent of its waste, and much of what it uses (grocery bags, cash register tape) is 100 percent recycled.
