Thermal night blinds on in-store chillers mark the latest sustainability-focused investment at regional grocery chain Southern Co-op.
The retailer said this week that it is upgrading its night blinds across the store estate to an improved thermal version, which will reduce the amount of energy required in its properties.
According to the grocer, the thermal night blinds act like a thermal blanket, reducing the amount of energy needed to keep its fridges at optimum temperature.
In total, it marks a £200,000 investment to retrofit thermal night blinds on chillers in 46 stores. The eco strategy includes plans to install the new equipment in all of its refrigeration which doesn’t currently have doors.
Southern Co-op conducted a thermal night blinds pilot which resulted in energy savings of up to 9%. The work will take place in 2023 and the retailer said that once all the blinds have been upgraded even if there was just a 5% reduction each year, the initial phase of the project would save 377,402 KWH per annum.
This equates to a projected carbon reduction of nearly 73 tonnes of Co2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) per annum, and is the equivalent of the average electricity used by two retail stores per year.
Southern Co-op director of sustainability & communications, Gemma Lacey, remarked: “This is a significant saving of energy and it marks another milestone in our ongoing commitment to combat climate change.
“It also has an estimated payback period of just 2.2 years. Through this, and other forward-looking initiatives, we hope to continue to make substantial energy savings, reduce our carbon footprint, and build a sustainable future for our community and the environment.”
Earlier this week, Southern Co-op became the latest retailer to join the British Retail Consortium’s Climate Action Roadmap, which involved the retailer making a commitment to the trade body’s 2040 retail sector Net-Zero ambition. Approximately 90 retailers are now signed up to the roadmap, as the industry looks to make strong collaborative progress in tackling the climate crisis.
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
