Sustainability is ingrained in the Publix culture and represented in its mission statement through enhancing its ties to the communities and conserving natural resources. As early as the 1970s, Publix began its recycling efforts by collecting all the cardboard used in stores and working with paper companies to recycle.

Get Into a Green Routine
In 2001, Publix introduced the Get Into a Green Routine program to start making smarter decisions for energy, water conservation and recycling. To meet its goal as an industry leader, Publix started with simple changes and focused on the importance of being energy-efficient.

Through small efforts like turning off computers, lights and closing freezer and refrigerator doors, Publix has decreased gas emissions by over 27% since 2007, as well as reducing electricity consumption in retail operations by 20%.

Social and Environmental Benefits
Each year, Publix strives to improve its recycling practices and makes every effort to reduce resource usage. Here’s the company’s impact in 2020:

Recycled materials:

• 298,801 tons of cardboard
• 12,594 tons of mixed plastic
• 2,692 tons of waxed cardboard
• 5,176 tons of mixed paper

This equates to saving:

• 2 million trees
• 1 billion gallons of water
• 1 million cubic yards of landfill space
• 3 million barrels of oil

LED Lighting
In its efforts to continue reducing electricity usage, Publix tested LED lighting in its newer stores. Results showed that this saved 35% in energy and therefore the company rolled out LEDs in all its stores.

With the implementation of LED lighting and motion sensors on refrigerated door cases, Publix has saved 100,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually per store. Walk-in freezer lighting has been replaced with LEDs as well, resulting in a 50% to 80% reduction in energy usage over traditional incandescent lights.