Content about Energy conservation

Energy conservation remains a key priority for retailers as several factors, including new power plant regulations, threaten to increase volatility in the electricity market. Along with being a significant cost driver, energy management advances environmental goals. Indeed, it is typically the most cost-effective activity a retailer can undertake to become more sustainable, according to Marcus Boerkei, general manager of Siemens Retail & Commercial Systems, who spoke with Chain Store Age about how retailers can reduce their energy use.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co. has received the Alliance to Save Energy’s top award, the “Galaxy” Star of Energy Efficiency.

New York -- Tesco has opened its first all-LED store as the United Kingdom’s largest retailer continues its drive to reduce carbon emissions from its operations. Tesco expects that the use of the LEDs in its new Express location, in Loughborough, England, will produce a 30% energy savings compared to its other Express stores.  

Henderson, Nev. -- Efficiency upgrades at 621 7-Eleven stores in California, Washington, and Oregon, will result in an anticipated energy savings of approximately $1.2 million annually.

The upgrades were completed by Castrovilla, a subsidiary of Blue Earth, an energy efficiency and renewable energy services company. The project involved the installation of energy efficient electronically commutated motors, anti-sweat heater controls, evaporator fan controls, gaskets, door closers and strip curtains.

New York -- Energy cost savings, government/utility incentives and rebates, and enhanced brand or public image ranked as the top drivers of energy-efficiency decision-making in the United States and Canada, according to a global survey of building owners and operators and facility managers by Johnson Controls.

Norwell, Mass. -- An energy project undertaken for The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. by Bluestone Energy Services has been recognized as the Best Multi-Site Retail Energy Program in New England by the Association of Energy Engineers New England (AEENE).

Sunbury, Pa. — Weis Markets on Monday announced it has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership, a program, that will help the grocer assess the environmental and energy efficiency of the trucks supplying its 161 stores.

Spokane, Wash. -- Ecova, a total energy and sustainability management company, has been selected by Rite Aid to provide utility expense and energy management services. Ecova will assist Rite Aid in monitoring, understanding and reducing energy use at approximately 4,700 Rite Aid pharmacies nationwide.

Washington, D.C. — Supervalu announced that it has joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, which aims to engage building operators nationwide in improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020. The announcement was made by President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton during a leadership event attended by Craig Herkert, Supervalu CEO and president, this morning in Washington, D.C.

New York City -- Solid-state lighting figures prominently in Starbucks’ newly renovated Time Square flagship in New York City. The retailer utilized the services of Focus Lighting, a New York-based architectural lighting design firm, which called upon LED Source, an international supplier of LED lighting.

“LEDs are the most energy-efficient lighting solution on the market,” said Joe Zamore, VP of business development, LED Source, Wellington, Fla., which specializes specializes in full-scale evaluations and retrofits.

Sustainability is fundamental to The Timberland Co., which has committed to reducing its environmental footprint by cutting emissions from its facilities and stores by 50%. The company has identified lighting, which accounts for a significant portion of its total energy use, as a prime source for energy reduction. In 2009, it replaced incandescent and halogen track and flood lighting in many of its stores with LED technology.


Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot said Tuesday that three of its stores hold the top spots for retail energy efficiency gains at the midpoint of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star National Building Competition.