2022 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle Set to be 100% Carbon Neutral; Giant Food and GreenPrint Team to Make Popular Festival Greener

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Jun 15, 2022, 09:32 ET

Event to Spotlight Local Grocer's Commitment to Sustainability with Category Leaders including Divert, Loop and Volta

LANDOVER, Md. , June 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Giant Food, the leading greater Washington, D.C. regional grocery chain, announces that the 30^th annual Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle will be 100% carbon neutral through a collaboration with GreenPrint, a global environmental technology leader of certified offset projects to reduce the harmful effects of carbon through reforestation, alternative energy and methane reduction. Giant's sustainability partners Divert, Loop and Volta will also be on-site at the event which takes place June 25-26, in person for the first time since 2019, and features live music, family entertainment and delicious BBQ.

This extends Giant's work with GreenPrint, a PDI Company. Earlier this year, Giant and GreenPrint announced a collaboration to offset up to 30% of consumers' vehicle emissions generated from gas sold at Giant Food gas pumps. Giant and GreenPrint are eager to team up to make the Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle 100% carbon neutral for the first time through investments in certified carbon reduction projects. The certified offset projects are furthering environmental innovation to reduce the harmful effects of carbon and include reforestation, alternative energy and methane reduction.

"We aim to be a leader in the sustainable grocery space and look forward to furthering our commitments to making a positive environmental impact by offering these programs to the communities Giant serves," said Steven Jennings, Brand Lead for Health and Sustainability at Ahold Delhaize USA, parent company of Giant Food. "With more than 125,000 visitors to our Giant National Capital Barbeque Battle, this is an ideal forum to share resources and sustainable examples with our guests, introducing them to the exciting work we are undertaking with these partners, GreenPrint, Divert, Loop and Volta."

"GreenPrint is proud to be a part of this event and offset the carbon footprint. Giant Food is clearly demonstrating that they share environmental goals with their customers," said Pete Davis, co-founder and CEO of GreenPrint. "Defending and preserving our planet is not only the right thing to do, it's good business. Companies that are able to navigate the business of sustainability will be best positioned for future success."

Reducing Food Waste
Divert, a company leading the decarbonization of food waste in the retail industry by donating, repurposing and processing unsold food, will soon launch in all Giant stores. At this year's Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle, Divert will install 20 bins throughout the festival to collect food waste and turn it into clean energy. The company will also be offering interactive and educational resources as well as sustainability focused giveaways.

"At Divert, making the world more sustainable by reducing food waste is core to what we do, and we're honored to be a part of the 30th annual Barbecue Battle," said Ryan Begin, CEO at Divert. "We've been fighting the food waste battle for over 15 years and are excited to partner with Giant Food to help them meet progressive sustainability goals and have a positive impact on our communities and planet."

Eliminating Single-Use Plastic
Loop, the circular reuse platform designed to give consumers a new way to shop by offering a selection of products in reusable packaging rather than in single-use versions will debut its upcoming in-store purchase and return experience at Giant stores during the Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle.

Loop's platform will be available in 10 Giant stores this fall with leading consumer food and household product brands to choose from, with the intention to grow the item offerings and expand to more stores in 2023. The collaboration allows consumers to shop the Loop-ready products available in refillable, reusable containers within the dedicated Loop section at Giant, choose the items they wish to purchase and checkout as they would with any other product. After consumers use the products, they can return the empty containers to the Loop Return Point at Giant. From there, the containers are sent to Loop to be sanitized, then returned to the CPG suppliers to be refilled and returned to the store for future purchase.

"I can't think of a better way to introduce Loop to Giant consumers than this milestone year marking three decades of the annual Barbecue Battle," said Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO of TerraCycle and Loop. "We are excited to bring Loop to Giant Food this fall, and the Barbecue Battle will be a great opportunity to show consumers how convenient reusable packaging can be."

A Greener Footprint on the Road
Volta, an industry leading electric vehicle charging network, has worked with Giant since 2020 to offer electric vehicle charging stations conveniently located near the front doors of the stores. Since the rollout, over one million electric miles have been delivered to customers.

"We're thrilled to drive forward in partnership with Giant Food to further our goal of weaving EV charging seamlessly into people's everyday lives and offering customers the convenience of shopping while charging. While reducing emissions for the community, we're proud to acknowledge Giant's, 'A Million Miles Charged' at this year's Barbecue Battle," said Sharon Baker, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions at Volta.

For more information about Giant's sustainability efforts, visit https://giantfood.com/pages/sustainability.

About Giant Food
Since opening its first location over 85 years ago in Washington, D.C. in 1936, Giant has been an integral part of the communities and customers it serves. Giant is committed to being a Better Neighbor and has designated four main giving pillars that address local Food Insecurity, Military Support, Pediatric Cancer Research and Social Equality. Giant is headquartered in Landover, Md. and operates 164 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia with approximately 20,000 associates. Included within the 164 stores are 152 full-service pharmacies, 92 full-service PNC Banks and 26 Starbucks locations. Giant fits all the ways today's busy customers want to shop - whether in store or online. With 159 Giant Pickup locations and Giant Delivers available in all of its markets, customers have even more convenient options right at their fingertips to get the best products and prices, whenever and however they choose. For more information on Giant, visit: www.giantfood.com.

SOURCE Giant Food