Researchers aim to help Maine companies boost climate resiliency
Jared Wildwistle, the business climate action program manager with GMRI, demonstrates how to measure elevation and projected sea level rise at the Mill Creek Hannaford in South Portland on Tuesday. Hannaford has hired Gulf of Maine Research Institute to conduct a vulnerability assessment at its stores in Mill Creek and Forest Avenue in Portland. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
Climate scientists are helping one of Maine’s major food retailers prepare for the risks of extreme weather, starting at a South Portland store that already floods during coastal storms and king tides.
Behind the Mill Creek Hannaford, seagulls circle a cove nestled against a loading dock that delivery trucks can’t always reach during storms. The tangy smell of low tide hangs in the air as shopping carts rattle across asphalt that can vanish at the highest tides, even when the sun is out.
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is taking its coastal resilience expertise from town halls directly to grocery aisles. While the nonprofit has long helped coastal towns plan for rising seas, this marks its first one-on-one climate vulnerability assessment with a major corporate partner.
“When people think about climate resilience and sustainability, the focus is often on protecting physical infrastructure and community safety,” said Jared Wildwistle, head of GMRI’s business climate action program. “These actions also make good business sense.”
Casco Bay is seen in the distance while Peter Forester, a senior vice president at Hannaford, talks about hiring Gulf of Maine Research Institute to conduct a climate vulnerability assessment at the Mill Creek Hannaford in South Portland on Tuesday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
The stakes of a store closure extend far beyond lost retail revenue, Wildwistle said. A shutdown cuts off community access to food, prescriptions and local jobs, he said. More than 350 people work at the Mill Creek and Portland Forest Avenue stores that will be the first to be studied.
The institute’s business program began four years ago by convening groups of small companies, like lobster wharves and aquaculture farms, to talk about their biggest climate concerns, like sea level rise and cutting emissions. More than 100 businesses have participated, Wildwistle said.
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But Hannaford is the institute’s first-ever one-on-one consulting gig with a large Maine retailer**.**
Hannaford Senior Vice President Peter Forester said the company, which has already showed a commitment to sustainability, decided to go deeper with GMRI after officials saw the 2050 flood projections for the Mill Creek site.
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“It was scary, actually,” Forester said.
The goal is to use the vulnerability data to build a climate plan for Hannaford’s total footprint across the Northeast.
The assessment aligns with the state climate plan, Maine Won’t Wait, which advises coastal communities to gird for 1.5 feet of sea level rise by 2050 and 4 feet by 2100. A 3-foot rise combined with a 100-year storm would leave the Mill Creek commercial area inundated.
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By the end of the year, researchers will deliver findings that will guide the retailer to determine when and how to move critical equipment — such as grease traps and electrical systems — before the sea forces its hand. Neither GMRI nor Hannaford would reveal the value of the contract.
“We’ve made the decision to do this because we plan to be here for the long haul,” Forester said.
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Tagged: business, climate, flooding, hannaford, sea level rise, storm recovery
Penny is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and. More by Penelope Overton
