Southern California retailer Ralphs Grocery Co. has received a top award for its energy management and reduction achievements.

Compton, California-based Ralphs, a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., is a winter of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy’s 2018 Energy Star Partner of the Year award.

Nine Ralphs stores have received Energy Star designation, meaning they rate in the top 25 percent of facilities for energy efficiency and performance.

The nine stores have energy-saving features including LED lighting, motion sensors, variable speed drives, anti-sweat heat controls, distributed refrigeration systems, heat reclaim systems, night-time lighting controls, building and refrigeration control systems and high efficiency lamps and ballasts.

Other energy-saving features include refrigeration case controls, digital scroll compressors, demand defrost and demand-control ventilation. Ralphs store associates are also engaged in energy savings initiatives.

"Protecting health and the environment is important for Ralphs, and our associates care deeply about doing their part,” says Valerie Jabbar, Ralphs’ president. “One of our top priorities is to be a zero-waste company."

One of Ralphs’ goals is to reduce energy consumption in its stores by 40 percent by 2020.