Bozeman’s new Safeway: Leader in Sustainability

On December 2, 2011, Safeway Inc. celebrated the grand opening of their LEED (Leadership in Energy and Efficiency Design) certifiable replacement store located at 1735 W. Main Street in downtown Bozeman.
The new Bozeman Safeway is a ground-up replacement store for the Safeway that originally opened in 1968, serving the community for over 40 years.  The new store was designed to meet LEED silver certification standards, a designation given only to buildings that meet strict standards of sustainable design, construction and operating practices.  This Safeway store will be the only LEED certified grocery store in the State of Montana.

The new Bozeman Safeway spans almost 60,000-square-feet and was constructed with the following environmentally focused methods:

·        Approximately 89% of the construction waste, by weight, was diverted from the landfill.

·        Approximately 25% of the building materials purchased on the job, by cost, contain recycled content.

·        Approximately 50% of the materials purchased on the job, by cost, were harvested and manufactured within 500 miles of the project site.

The following are just some of the store’s environmentally sound features:

·        Store is designed to use at least 17 percent less energy than an ASHRAE-baseline building.

·        All paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, flooring, furniture, ceilings and wall systems meet strict standards for indoor air quality and low volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

·        The Protocol refrigeration system is equivalent to taking more than 160 cars off the roads and planting more than 250 acres of trees per year.

“We are proud of the reputation we have developed for sustainability and believe our new Bozeman store strengthens our position as a leader in sustainable efforts, including store design and earth-friendly products, along with our already strong history of supporting communities,” stated Greg Sparks, President of Safeway’s Seattle Division.  “Our new Bozeman store reflects a superior standard for sustainable supermarket design for Safeway and the entire supermarket industry,” said Sparks.

In addition to the green aspects of the Bozeman store, it boasts wall to wall specialty items ranging from: Starbucks coffee kiosk with a large indoor/outdoor seating area offering free Wi-Fi and connected by a two-sided fireplace, a wide variety of organic produce and products, fresh sushi bar, soup & olive bars, Cheese World and expanded deli department, elite wine department, fresh bakery department, service fish and meat, and a pharmacy with private immunization rooms.

The new store, managed by Shane Nelson, employs approximately 180 employees, an increase of almost 130 from the former store’s 51 employees.

About The Safeway Foundation
The Safeway Foundation supports causes that impact our customers’ lives.  Our stores provide the opportunity to mobilize funding and create awareness in our neighborhoods through our employees’ passion, partnerships with our vendors, and the generous contributions by our customers.  We focus on giving locally in the areas of health and human services, hunger relief, education and helping people living with disabilities.