16 August 2023

Upgrading to thermal night blinds will slash energy consumption in Southern Co-op stores

There will be less of a night time chill in the air at Southern Co-op stores in the future as the regional retailer upgrades its night blinds to an improved thermal version.

Once installed, the blinds will act like a thermal blanket, reducing the amount of energy needed to keep the fridges at optimum temperature.

Southern Co-op, which is committed to combatting climate change, is investing £200,000 to retrofit thermal chiller night blinds into 46 stores this year, with plans to install them in all of its refrigeration which doesn't currently have doors.

Following a trial, the pilot sites saw energy savings of up to nine per cent. Once all the blinds have been upgraded, even if there was just a five per cent 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. This is the equivalent of the average electricity used by two retail stores per year or the average emissions of 40 diesel cars for a year (based on DESNZ GHG conversion factors and DfT National Travel Survey 22).

Southern Co-op Director of Sustainability and Communications, Gemma Lacey, said: "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."

The thermal night blinds are just one of a range of actions being taken by Southern Co-op to reduce its overall carbon footprint.

Last year it achieved a reduction of 36% in absolute greenhouse gas emissions since 2019. This was on top of a previous reduction of the business's carbon footprint of 27% between 2012 and 2019.

Other work being carried out includes assessing sub metering to better understand equipment usage, adjusting times on equipment to save energy, and identifying and taking localised action to address high energy using sites.

The retailer has previously replaced obsolete refrigeration, installed ecoblade technology and energy efficient refrigeration fans to improve energy efficiency and reduce refrigeration emissions.

Southern Co-op has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030 from a 2019 base year - this relates to emissions that fall under its operational control such as electricity, gas, fuel and emissions associated with refrigeration.

To find out more about Southern Co-op's sustainability efforts, visit https://southern.coop/how-we-do-it/sustainability.