Our Half Year Energy Saving Results

1.1 Million reasons to join our energy saving drive

We’re on the way to achieving the ambitious target set out in our 2022 AGM of reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions by 50% over the next 5 years.

Our initial focus has been on identifying energy-saving opportunities across our Food Stores. In the first half of this year, across our food retail business alone, we saved 1.1 million kWh compared to this time last year (like for like Stores), equivalent to more than 250 tonnes of C02, and £291,000 in energy costs.

These figures add up to some great teamwork. Simply by changing behaviour and taking small steps such as switching off lights when not needed, our Food stores saved 100 tonnes of CO2, that’s the equivalent of £125,000 in energy costs.  

Without the buy-in of our colleagues, this achievement would not have been possible, so a huge thank you to all. 

Turning up the heat on saving energy

We’re supporting colleagues and their energy-saving endeavours with an investment of £5.5 million in energy efficiency projects. Our LED lighting and energy-efficient refrigeration rollout has seen 39 food stores upgraded within the first half of the year. This has had a massive impact, with these stores reporting a reduction in energy usage by 30%, saving an equivalent of £166,000 on energy costs.

But it’s not just about financial investment, it’s also about the time invested by colleagues to make these energy-saving ideas become a reality.

Our Energy Reduction Steering Group meets once a week to identify energy-saving opportunities across food stores and engage with colleagues, offering advice and suggestions for energy-saving tips.

Switching on to switching off

Implementing an energy-saving survey and inventory across food stores helped us to understand their energy usage and identify opportunities to switch things off where not needed.

This includes utilising existing timeclocks more effectively on refrigeration, air conditioning and lighting, thinking about air conditioning settings, and ensuring lights are being switched off when not needed.  

Sharing success

We’ve initiated sharing best practices around energy saving with other Co-ops and businesses and adopted an open approach to learning from others working with our contractors and other businesses.

Our Head of Sustainability chairs a cross Co-op Retail Society Environmental Sustainability group, and at Co-op Congress 2022 earlier this year presented on what the various retail Co-op societies are doing to save energy.

Saving energy – the next steps

During the second half of this year, we plan to continue rolling out energy-saving projects across our Stores and activate remote data management (RDM) across 100 Food stores, enabling us to better automate energy-efficient controls associated with our refrigeration and other equipment.

Thank you

We’d like to acknowledge all the work being done by our colleagues in Food stores. Your actions will not only help us reduce energy costs but will also help us continue to reduce our Greenhouse Gas emissions and protect the environment.