Perifem, the federation that collaborates with all French retailers and their suppliers around environmental, energy, safety, and technological innovation concerns, has announced a new crisis energy protocol.
Faced with the risk of possible power supply shortages announced by the government for this winter, Perifem aims to coordinate the actions of the biggest players in retail around energy-saving measures.
Retailer Collaboration
The leaders of the largest food chains such as Michel-Edouard Leclerc (E. Leclerc), Alexandre Bompard (Carrefour), Dominique Schelcher (Système U), Vincent Bronsard (Intermarché & Netto), Philippe Brochard (Auchan), Tina Schuler (Casino), Cécile Guillou (Franprix), Guillaume Sénéclauze (Monoprix), Friedrich Fuchs (Lidl), and Cathy Collart Geiger (Picard), have signed this protocol together.
The work began in June and has so far led to the definition of common and concrete measures for retailers to reduce their energy consumption and avoid the cuts announced in the event of a crisis.
The measures include turning off illuminated signs as soon as the store closes, reducing the lighting of the sales area by 50% before the public arrives and by 30% during critical consumption periods, among others.
Emergency measures that may become necessary in the event of a critical peak in electricity consumption have also been designed, including lowering the temperature of all stores to a maximum of 17°C during peak hours.
Perifem Measures
This initiative enjoys a deep commitment from all the retailers involved for two reasons.
Firstly, all those involved in the retail trade have been working for a long time to improve their practices regarding energy saving with thousands of helpful initiatives being identified in the last two years.
As part of the application of the tertiary decree of the ELAN law, retailers are implementing solutions to reduce their energy consumption by 40% by 2030.
Secondly, the exponential rise in electricity prices also contributed to the acceleration of their commitment.
For most retailers, the electricity bill represented 30% of their net income before the recent surge in energy costs.
With a doubling of the cost anticipated as early as 2023, many retailers may increase prices to stay afloat.
It is therefore essential to reduce the energy bill and to mobilise together to avoid too great an impact on prices for consumers.
Thierry Cotillard, president of Perifem said, "I am delighted by the strong involvement of the leaders of our largest retailers and believe in our individual and collective ability to ensure that all retailers, in coordination with the government and the authorities, adopt the same approach to guarantee responsible and civic-minded behaviour in terms of lowering energy consumption while protecting our fellow citizens as much as possible.
"This protocol must be a long-term one, as it is time for energy sobriety, which will profoundly change our consumption habits."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
