ALDI achieved the highest score among 16 U.S. food retailers in the Environmental Investigation Agency’s (EIA) 2026 Climate-Friendly Supermarkets Scorecard, which evaluates the progress supermarkets are making in phasing out HFCs from their refrigeration systems. 

The score for each company is based on its actions in three categories: policy and commitments, technology adoption and refrigerant management. Each supermarket chain is assessed based on a questionnaire sent two months prior to the scorecard’s publication, according to the EIA. All scores are out of 100%.

Companies that did not respond were assessed on publicly available information, including environmental and social governance reports, industry articles and submissions to the EIA’s Climate-Friendly Supermarkets map. Twelve companies did not respond to the EIA’s scorecard information request. They were scored on publicly available information, with nine chains having no time-bound commitment for reducing HFCs.

Under policy and commitment, the agency focuses on shared public goals to reduce HFCs. This includes membership and active participation in organizations that advance HFC-free refrigeration, such as the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), as well as making public commitments to reduce HFCs by publishing progress updates.

Regarding technology, the EIA looks at the use of refrigerants with a GWP lower than 10, especially CO₂ (R744), ammonia (R717) and hydrocarbons such as propane (R290) and isobutane (R600a). Refrigerant management takes into account reducing leaks and ensuring that all refrigerants removed from the systems are properly recovered and either reclaimed or destroyed.

“A sector long responsible for high leak rates of these superpollutants now has every tool to accelerate its transition away from them,” said Beth Porter, EIA US Senior Climate Policy Analyst, in a statement.

Major takeaways: ALDI received the highest marks at 72% and is the only company to score above 50%. It is also the only company with a public target to transition all of its new and existing stores to natural refrigerants by 2035.

• Meijer scored highest on refrigerant management with a reported average annual leak rate below 8%, but transparency on leaks remains an issue, per the EIA. Only four companies (ALDI, Meijer, Target and Kroger) disclose their leak rates, despite a requirement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to capture the data under its requirements for refrigerant leak repair recordkeeping and reporting. 
• Eleven companies have made a public commitment to reduce the use or emissions of HFCs. However, the EIA wrote, there are gaps in time-bound targets and public updates on the progress.

ALDI: The retailer reported that more than 10% of its stores use “only ultra-low” GWP refrigerants, including CO₂ refrigeration systems, while more than half of its stores use medium-GWP refrigerants. ALDI also topped the EIA’s Climate-Friendly Scorecard when it was last issued in 2024.

• In November 2024, ALDI reported that it deployed transcritical CO₂ refrigeration systems in 745 stores.
• Over 700 stores are in the EPA’s GreenChill program, a voluntary program committed to lowering refrigeration industry emissions.
• “Our 2026 scorecard shows that affordability is not a barrier to climate leadership and regulatory uncertainty is no excuse for inaction,” said Avipsa Mahapatra, Climate Campaigner Director at EIA U.S., in a press release. ALDI was recently rated as one of the most affordable grocery stores in the U.S.

Whole Foods: The supermarket chain received a 50%, the second-highest on the scorecard. In 2025 the company committed to using “low-GWP natural refrigerant systems” in all new supermarkets.

• The company has retrofitted 44% of its stores from high- to medium-GWP refrigerants. Only 4–7% of its overall stores use ultra-low GWP refrigerants.
• The EIA wrote that Whole Foods uses ultra-low GWP refrigerants in standalone equipment and partners with NASRC to provide technician training on natural refrigerant systems.

Ahold Delhaize: The company received a score of 46%, a sizable increase from the 22% it was given on the 2024 scorecard.

• The EIA said the surge is owed “to a higher number of confirmed stores with HFC-free refrigeration and improved commitments for ultra-low GWP use.”
• According to the EIA, the retailer has “acknowledged the need” to continue investing in refrigerant upgrades and conversions but has not set a time-bound HFC reduction target.
• Ahold Delhaize said it has committed to using only ultra-low GWP refrigerants in all new U.S. standalone equipment.
  

Natural refrigerants in North America: In 2025, the market penetration of transcritical CO₂ across all North American supermarkets and grocery stores was 5.8%. 

• There were a total of 5,120 total CO₂ stores: 3,460 in the United States and 1,660 in Canada.
• Almost all of those stores use racks.

Quotable: “Many U.S. retailers have already invested in HFC-free refrigeration systems, and this adoption is advancing more rapidly at the global level, demonstrating a shift towards energy-efficient, climate-friendly alternatives,” said Beth Porter.