When it comes to being conscious of our environmental impact, we challenge ourselves every year to do better than the last.

Every spring, one location each in distribution, industrial maintenance and manufacturing is awarded for their dedication to making everyday practices and routines more sustainable. The Green Routine and Sustainability Award highlights these superstars with an award made from recycled materials that fits the theme of the year.

“We love to take this chance to showcase all we have accomplished in the past year and how we are looking forward to where we are headed,” said Manager of Return Center Operations Mark Jordan. “I see our associates get excited each year to find out how much we recycled and saved.”

The 2020 theme was all about using Publix history to propel us into a more sustainable future. To mirror this theme, the award was made from repurposed materials from our history. These items include old vacuum breakers from the 1950s, department signs and clear case dividers from produce, meat and grocery.

Qualifications for receiving the award

To receive this award, each area has different qualifications they must meet. These include

• energy and water conservation
• reduction in usage
• recycling efforts
• efficient usage of diesel and
• an overall positive environmental impact.

Each site gets points for how well they succeed at their given qualifications. The areas with the highest scores are presented with their special award, a card detailing award materials and a certificate signed by industrial operations leaders.

2020 award recipients

Without further ado, here are your 2020 Green Routine and Sustainability Award recipients!

• Jacksonville distribution center
• Lakeland industrial refrigeration
• Orlando produce snacks

A bit of award history

The Green Routine and Sustainability Award first started in 2015, and the team behind it decided to make each year’s award unique. Repurposing is another way to be sustainable, so for inspiration each year the team looks at items being discarded or recycled. The final design showcases how items we use in our business can be reused or recycled into completely new items. After the Industrial Operations Green Routine Team decides what the award will look like, it’s made by associates in facility services and engraved by printing services. Read on to learn what previous awards were made from.

2015

The thick piece on the left is bamboo reclaimed from the construction of Aprons Simple Meals kiosks. The grey bar on the right is decking made from recycled single-use plastic shopping bags, and the horizontal bar contains shavings from used blueprints.

2016

The oak base and front are made from wood used to make a produce display, while the gears came from the transmission of a Publix truck. The arm and needle coming out of the back are from one of our customer favorites: the scale at the front of our Florida retail stores. Finally, the backing piece is plexiglass from the construction of customer service counters.

2017

This plastic trunk and metal fence around this fun little tree were made from a retired shopping cart from one of our stores. The branches came from the whisk attachment of a Publix Bakery mixer, and the grass and leaves were once the aluminum outside of a scale customers weighed themselves on. Finally, the base is wood from a pallet used in distribution.

2018

The centerpiece of this award is 38,080 pellets made from approximately 174 recycled single-use plastic shopping bags. These pellets are sent to vendors to make decking boards like the pieces at the top and base. The right side is part of a wood pallet, the left is from a cheese case, the back is metal from a deli condiment organizer and the front is acrylic from a fresh case divider.

2019

This award represents how recycled materials can be made into alternative fuel sources and other products. The brown material inside the award is an Enviro Log made from recycled wax cardboard. The red material at the inside top is a NuCycle cube made from recycled and unusable cardboard, plastic and wood. This coal alternative is burned for fuel. The resulting ash is used to make concrete, some of which was used for the award’s base. The back of the award is part of a wood pallet, while the top and remaining sides are acrylic from a fresh case divider.

2020

The team wanted the 2020 award to reflect Publix’s history. The green marble and aluminum on the front are both from the front of the George Jenkins Building in Lakeland, Florida. The base is made from a 1950s 600-watt vacuum breaker from the same building. The copper top, sides and nameplate backer, and a holed aluminum sheet on the back, are all from signs created for #1182, Tampa, Florida, the original Publix GreenWise Market which is now a traditional Publix. The acrylic pieces are from clear case dividers used in fresh and grocery.