Trader Joe's

How does Trader Joe's compare with other supermarket/grocery store buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 41 supermarket/grocery store buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Trader Joe's's ENERGY STAR score of 94 compares with an average of 70 across the 35 that report a score; it scores higher than 86% of them and lower than 11%. Its site EUI of 77.9 kBtu/ft² is about 59% below the average of 188.2 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.5 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 89% below the group average of 4.2 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 25,762 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 53,722 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1946, 41 years earlier than the group's average year built (1987). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 1,646 supermarket/grocery store buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 71 and a site EUI of 176.1 kBtu/ft².

How has Trader Joe's's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Trader Joe's, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 100 in 2015 to 94 in 2025 (-6 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 100. Site EUI moved from 91.1 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 77.9 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 14% decrease. Reported emissions went from 14 tCO₂e to 12 tCO₂e over the same span (down 14%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 94 mean?

ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 94 means the building performs better than about 94% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 94 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Seattle, 69% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.

Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Trader Joe's's 77.9 kBtu/ft² across 25,762 sq ft works out to about 2 billion Btu (588 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 218.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 588,182 kWh of electricity for the year.

Which law requires Trader Joe's to report its energy use?

Trader Joe's reports under the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920), the legal basis of Seattle's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2025 disclosure (source record seattle:20435:2025). Seattle's Building Emissions Performance Standard (adopted 2023) applies to buildings over 20,000 sq ft: benchmarking verification is due 2027–2030 and initial emissions targets 2031–2035, reaching net zero by 2041–2050, with fines for non-compliance.