We believe that our work to care for the environment not only makes us better neighbors — it helps us serve you better. By being energy efficient and conserving natural resources, we’re not only helping the planet, we’re also creating savings we can pass on to you in the form of everyday low prices.
Assembled here is a partial list of the many ways H-E-B is making sustainable practices a part of how we conduct business.
We reduce more than 6 million pounds of harmful air pollutants and divert more than 200,000 tons of waste from landfills – more than the annual waste produced by 100,000 households – by recycling materials including aluminum, steel, plastic, oil, cardboard and computers.
Our cardboard and plastic recycling efforts save the equivalent of 1.7 million trees, 25,000 barrels of oil, 350,000 cubic yards of landfill space and 400 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy per year. The energy savings alone are enough to power more than 36,000 homes for a year.
By increasing the amount of groceries that goes into each bag at checkout, we have reduced the number of plastic bags we use by 136,381,800 – that conserves 8,000 barrels of oil and 2,500 cubic yards of landfill space.
We save 6.2 million gallons of water each year by reusing condensation from manufacturing steam equipment – that’s enough to supply the water needs of more than 150 homes every year.
We were the first retailer in Texas to offer our customers E-85 Fuel (85% ethanol) along the IH-35 corridor. E-85 is made from domestically produced corn reducing our reliance on foreign oil while also reducing harmful carbon dioxide emissions.
E-85 is available now at select stores in San Antonio, Buda, Austin, Killeen, Waco, Mission and Laredo, and will be available at our new store in Kyle.
Close to half of our largest delivery trucks in Houston operate on liquefied natural gas, annually reducing approximately 35 tons of harmful nitrous oxide emissions that contribute to smog and other forms of air pollution. That’s the equivalent of removing 2,135 passenger cars off the road each year.
Due to our fuel-saving strategies, we were the only Texas-based company invited to serve as a charter partner in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWaySM Transport Partnership. The Partnership was formed to reduce greenhouse gas and other harmful emissions from the heavy-duty sector.
We have reduced our use of diesel fuel by over 4.7 million gallons each year and carbon dioxide emissions by more than 30% annually. That’s the equivalent of removing 10,678 passenger cars off the road each year.