Finland-based retailer S-Group has made a number of significant investments in domestic electricity generation and renewable energy.
The group has committed to taking a share of responsibility in the nationwide energy-saving initiatives and will continue its efforts to save energy and increase energy efficiency, it said.
Reducing group energy use also helps to lower prices for the average shopping basket, the retailer noted.
S-Group Energy Efficiency
S-Group has previously outlined its emissions targets, with the aim to achieve carbon negativity in its operations by 2025.
Key to achieving this goal have been efforts to promote energy efficiency in all 1,900 locations across Finland and to increase the use of renewable energy.
By utilising new refrigeration equipment, LED lighting, and waste heat from the grocery trade, the retailer has reduced energy consumption by more than 40% since 2010.
S-Group has made significant investments in energy saving for more than ten years.
Other measures to improve energy efficiency include switching to doorless and more environmentally-friendly refrigeration appliances, as well as the use of heat pumps, solar panels, and geothermal solutions.
In many S-Group stores, condensation heat from refrigeration equipment is used to heat the stores.
Renewable Energy
The retailer's energy efficiency target is set for 2030, with the goal to improve its energy consumption by 30% compared to 2015.
In the same timeframe, the group aims to reduce climate emissions from all activities by 90%.
Emissions have been reduced by 70% to date, the retailer noted.
Thanks to its investments in wind and solar energy, S-Group is almost self-sufficient in electricity.
It runs almost entirely on its own renewable electricity, with its own wind turbines covering around 80% of the electricity needs of the entire retail group on an annual basis. There are currently 62 wind turbines, with more planned.
S-Group is the third-largest producer of wind power in Finland and the biggest producer of solar power.
By the end of 2022, around 110,000 solar panels will be generating electricity to meet the retail group's energy needs.
The panels are normally located on the rooftops of stores and can sometimes produce enough electricity to supply the entire premises during the summer, the retailer added.
© 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.
