C&S Wholesale Grocers Renews Climate Commitment, Plants 46,000 Trees

March 5, 2013 - PRLog -- As the largest food wholesaler in the United States, C&S Wholesale Grocers is committed to reducing its carbon footprint when storing and shipping food—and that’s making a difference in the air, on the ground and in our streams and rivers.  C&S is working with The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero® program to measure the CO2 emissions from key facilities, and then offset those emissions by planting trees—more than 46,000 so far across 150 acres.

In its six years as a Go Zero partner, C&S has contributed to the planting of 46,790 trees at five national wildlife refuges nationwide.  This year’s gift will offset the annual CO2 emissions associated with the electricity and propane use at six facilities, including two corporate headquarters buildings for 2012. The donation also offsets the emissions associated with the annual roundtrip employee commutes for more than 1,600 employees.
“The Conservation Fund is helping us build momentum to reduce our environmental footprint,” noted Scott Charlton, C&S Executive Vice President of Operations.  “Its Go Zero program leverages our ongoing commitment to sustainability: monitoring and interpreting energy use data, expanding our recycling initiatives, and investing in energy efficiency upgrades.”

The recent commitment to Go Zero will enable the Fund to plant more than 11,000 trees across 36 acres at Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana that will trap an estimated 12,000 MTCO2e as the trees mature. Forestland once blanketed the 46,500-acre refuge, providing shelter for ducks and bears and slowing floodwaters for communities downstream. In the 1960s, lush forests and waterways throughout Louisiana—including the Upper Ouachita area—were slashed and burned, leaving behind a drastically altered landscape.

Today Upper Ouachita NWR is one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in the nation. The Conservation Fund, together with C&S Wholesale Grocers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and others, aims to repair the Ouachita River’s natural hydrology and restore much of the native forestland that once covered the region. As they grow, the new forests will provide cleaner air, cleaner water for those downstream — including the cities of Monroe and West Monroe — and more places to roam for threatened species like the Louisiana black bear.

“These newly restored forests do more than just address climate change,” said Go Zero director, Jena Thompson Meredith. “They leave a lasting legacy by improving important wildlife habitat, cleaning our air and waterways and enhancing outdoor recreational areas. C&S Wholesale Grocers’ strong commitment to reducing its carbon emissions and water use can result in tangible, on the ground results for people, wildlife and water.”

To date, The Conservation Fund’s reforestation-based carbon programs, including but not limited to Go Zero, have helped to protect and restore more than 26,000 acres with eight million trees that will trap an estimated nine million tons of carbon dioxide as the forests mature.  Learn more about Go Zero.

About C&S Wholesale Grocers
C&S Wholesale Grocers of Keene, NH, is the largest food wholesaler and according to Forbes magazine, the 10th largest privately held company in the United States. The company distributes food to supermarkets, retail stores and military bases across the country. Currently, C&S serves about 3,900 stores from more than 50 locations in 12 states. Among our customers are many of America's best known companies, including Stop & Shop, Giant of Carlisle, Giant of Landover, Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), Ralphs, Safeway and Target.

C&S community involvement programs support initiatives to fight hunger and to promote the health and enrichment of communities that are homes to the company's employees and facilities. To learn more: http://community.cswg.com.

The Conservation Fund
At The Conservation Fund, we combine a passion for conservation with an entrepreneurial spirit to protect your favorite places before they become just a memory. A hallmark of our work is our deep, unwavering understanding that for conservation solutions to last, they need to make economic sense. Top-ranked, we have protected more than 7 million acres across America. www.conservationfund.org