Thrifty Opens Canada's First "Carbon-Neutral" Store

COQUITLAM, BC, Canada -- Thrifty Foods yesterday opened Canada's first "carbon-neutral" store at Austin Station Shopping Centre in Coquitlam, B.C.

The carbon-neutral designation comes from the new store's grand opening festivities, which included a tree planting ceremony in conjunction with the Tree Canada Foundation, an organization that encourages Canadians to plant and care for trees in an effort to help reduce the harmful effects of carbon dioxide emissions. In partnership with Tree Canada, Thrifty Foods recently planted 1,776 trees in Manning Provincial Park and Colony Farm Regional Park, one for every cubic foot of carbon emissions that will likely be generated annually by the store.

The Coquitlam store joins Thrifty Foods' Tsawwassen store, opened in 2001, as the second of two Lower Mainland locations. Another Thrifty Foods store will open later this year in Surrey, and plans were recently announced for a fourth store to open in Port Moody by late 2007.

The full-service store, the company's 19th retail grocery location -- will feature a cheese island offering several hundred types of specialty cheese; floral consultation and catering services; more than 400 organic grocery items; and a prepared meals department for shoppers on the go.

Thrifty Foods is a 100 percent BC-owned and operated grocery retailer with 19 stores throughout Vancouver Island, Salt Spring Island, and the Lower Mainland, with a warehouse and commissary in Saanichton, just outside Victoria. The company employs more than 3,500 people.