SALISBURY, N.C. – Food Lion’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions have led to the grocery chain being named ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 19 consecutive years, the company said Friday.

“Food Lion has received this honor more times than any other company,” said Stephan Sylvan, director of communications for the climate protection partnerships division at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Sylvan noted that in each of the past 17 years, Food Lion has also achieved the agency’s Sustained Excellence distinction.

The ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award is given to organizations to recognize their contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through superior energy efficiency achievements. The EPA presents the Sustained Excellence award to partners that have already received ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year recognition for a minimum of two consecutive years and have gone above and beyond the criteria needed to qualify for recognition.

“We are honored to serve as a leader in energy conservation and efficiency,” said Matt Yates, vice president of brand strategy for Food Lion. “Our energy savings help us lower our costs, so we can keep our prices low for our customers.”

Many of Food Lion’s shoppers have noted the motion sensors that regulate lighting on freezer cases or remarked on the cold surfaces of doors on dairy and produce cases, which the company cited as examples of its success in delivering on its promise to be a better neighbor for the towns and cities it serves by caring for environment.

Food Lion has also upgraded lighting systems in 400 stores with LEDs (light-emitting diodes), which have many advantages over incandescent light sources, including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching.

Since 2000, Food Lion’s energy reductions in carbon emissions are equivalent to supplying the energy needed to charge more than 75.3 billion smart phones or providing energy to 70,717 homes for one year.

Food Lion noted that its sustainability goals go beyond energy efficiency and include its industry-leading sustainable sourcing standards, increased recycling to divert more waste from landfills and the donation of the equivalent of more than 300 million meals via its pioneering Food Lion Feeds food rescue effort, through which food is donated to local hunger relief organizations and 30 food banks across the grocer’s 10-state footprint before it perishes to feed neighbors in need.