Contact:
Sarah Erdman, Marketing Director
515.965.3403
serdman (at) www.qagraphics.com
June 18, 2013
QA Graphics, an Iowa interactive design firm, is pleased to announce that they are developing interactive displays for Hy-Vee, Inc., to help educate their consumers about the supermarket’s sustainable initiatives.
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned corporation operating 233 supermarket stores in eight Midwestern states. The corporation has been taking a number of steps to make its stores and operations more environmentally friendly, and has looked to QA Graphics for a creative way within the stores to illustrate these sustainable initiatives. QA Graphics has developed the Sustainable Building Dashboard, which is an interactive application used to educate about sustainability. The dashboard is planned to be incorporated at all of Hy-Vee’s new store locations. The first store it has been implemented at is the Hy-Vee in Urbandale, Iowa. The dashboard is displayed on a 42-inch touchscreen near the store entrance, allowing customers to learn more about the store’s sustainable features. The Urbandale store has been designed and built to LEED standards, although it has yet to be formally scored.
On the application, viewers can see what steps were implemented to follow the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification guidelines. Real-time energy information shows how much electricity is being used throughout the store and how much energy is generated from photovoltaic panels located in the canopies covering four electric vehicle charging stations. A green calculator shares how energy saved compares to a variety of everyday features, like how many homes could be powered for a year or how many loads of laundry could be dried. A 3D layout allows users to view where sustainable features are located throughout the interior and exterior, and interactive demonstrations illustrate how the photovoltaic system, day lighting and car charging station help the environment.
“We are excited about the opportunity that these Sustainable Building Dashboards provide, allowing us to engage our customers more fully in our sustainable efforts,” said Michael Smith, assistant vice president of Real Estate and Sustainability, Hy-Vee Inc. “We are hopeful customers will see the dashboards as an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas on what matters to them from a sustainable perspective.”
Also shown on the display is Hy-Vee 360, a website providing information about company-wide sustainability and healthy living efforts, including waste reduction and recycling, sustainable products and sourcing, packaging and transportation efforts, along with tips on how consumers can live a healthy and sustainable life. This site can also be viewed online at www.hy-vee360.com. Additional store locations that are currently in construction and plan to display the Sustainable Building Dashboard to educate consumers include Ankeny, Waukee, Olathe, and Omaha. QA Graphics provides similar solutions across North America for commercial buildings, schools, universities, and others. Learn more about the dashboard solution at www.qagraphics.com/eeed.
About QA Graphics
QA Graphics is an Iowa-based creative design company specializing in interactive applications, 3D design and animation, mobile app development and other multimedia. The company is also a leader in the building automation and green building industries, providing HVAC graphic development services and energy dashboards to help organizations educate occupants about building performance and sustainability.
About Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating 233 retail stores in eight Midwestern states. For FY 2012 the company recorded total sales of $7.7 billion, ranking it among the top 25 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.hy-vee.com.
