Fresh & Co. Joins Con Edison’s Small Business Energy Saving Program

New York is probably one of the world’s largest energy consumption cities. It illuminates its streets with sodium lights that won’t burn out for years. Why do we use these lights in the first place when they use an extreme amount of energy? Though they give off a very bright light, they are far from what you would call green energy, and just try to imagine New York City having its street light bulbs changed every six months!
At Fresh&Co, we’re taking the necessary action to become part of the solution in New York, rather than contributing to the problem. We partnered with Willdan Energy Solutions (WES), one of several programs designed by Con Edison to achieve their energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Esteban Vasquez, manager of Energy Efficiency at Con Edison says “Small businesses in New York City are the back bone and we want to help them achieve their goals.” And so, our project with WES began.

The goal of this operation is to reduce energy consumption, thus being energy efficient. By doing so, not only are we as a company saving money quickly, but we are contributing to the energy efficiency polls of the city and state (…being part of the solution!). By using LED fluorescent lights to illuminate our food, and switching out our regular ceiling bulbs for CFLs, Fresh&Co saves $15,000 annually in electric bills. We’ve even gone the extra mile in having motion censored lights in all of our offices, storage areas, and bathrooms that are triggered when someone enters the room. This avoids having lights left on indefinitely. Zooming out and looking at the big picture, this entire concept maintains our philosophy that we’ve had since day one; supporting the tri-state area, contributing to energy efficiency polls and maintaining a green built premises.

When someone comes in to one of our stores, we work very hard to have each individual have a fresh, organic experience. The idea of organic does not only pertain to food, but also to a way of life. Through our energy efficient methods, we are doing what’s best for the environment now, and for future generations. That is organic. And that, is the power of green.

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