Ireland's Musgrave Group has teamed up with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to carry out energy upgrade works across several SuperValu, Centra, and Musgrave MarketPlace outlets across Ireland.
The partnership aims to enact environmental change in the Irish retail sector and in local communities, through the ‘Building Sustainable Communities’ initiative, with this year's collaboration marking the ninth consecutive year of the two groups working together.
The initiative calls on stores to identify and upgrade areas of their own operations that can be made more energy-efficient, focusing on renewable energy as well, with the overall objective to reduce energy costs, fossil fuel usage, and greenhouse gas emissions year on year.
An example of the success of the initiative can be seen in SuperValu Ballybunion, Co Kerry, which reduced its carbon footprint by 20% with the addition of solar panels.
Participating stores can then identify community buildings in their area to donate funds and enable them to upgrade their facilities. Community buildings and clubs that benefitted as part of this scheme include:
- Peamount FC, Dublin
- Cuala GAA Club, Dublin
- Midleton Football Club, Cork
- Midleton Rugby Club, Cork
- Carndonagh FC, Donegal
- Ballybunion Leisure Centre, Kerry
- Ballybunion Community Centre, Kerry
- Kings Island Community Centre, Limerick
- Dungarvan Rugby Club, Waterford
All told, community buildings received up to €129,000 between them as a result of energy-saving measures implemented by their corresponding Musgrave Group store.
Additional Benefits
Declan Meally, head of transport and communities with SEAI, said the group was delighted to see ten Musgrave Group stores "stepping up to the plate to make sustainability improvements in store and provide some additional benefits for their wider communities."
Elsewhere, Ian Allen, managing director for SuperValu and Centra, said that the group is "committed to making a real difference and creating a positive impact on communities across Ireland."
Pictured is Daniel Murphy, cost and sustainability manager at Musgrave Group.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
