Taking Action on Climate Change

With nearly 1,500 stores in more than 900 communities across Canada, we understand the impact of our operations and our vehicle fleet on the environment. Specifically, we embrace the responsibility we have to take action on climate change, recognizing the risks it poses to food production and to the local communities we serve now and in the future.

We are committed to do OurPart™ to reduce carbon emissions. We are taking climate action by investing in our buildings to ensure they operate more efficiently, by lowering our energy consumption and by better understanding our emissions output to create a comprehensive plan to reduce our impact.

Farmer driving tractor in his field at sunrise.

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Same Buildings, Less Energy

In fiscal 2019, we conducted an energy assessment to determine which building equipment drives our store electricity consumption. The result was insightful: 90% of our store electricity consumption comes from refrigeration, lighting and store heating and air conditioning.

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The assessment led to the formation of our Energy Efficiency Initiative, a program developed to reduce energy consumption and support our efforts with verified data. Through the Energy Efficiency Initiative, we have actioned refrigeration, lighting and HVAC-related upgrades in over 800 stores in fiscal 2020, reducing emissions by nearly 8,000 tonnes of CO₂e.

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Learnings from the Energy Efficiency Initiative were also incorporated into major store renovation projects and new store design. We also extended these learnings to our distribution centres to further enhance our building energy efficiency and reduce our carbon emissions across the country. With the help of our key suppliers and service providers, we have established a solid foundation to make further carbon reductions and make our buildings as energy efficient as possible.

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Goals & Progress

Goal

Continuously Improve Energy Efficiency

Fiscal Year 2020 Progress Update

Over 57 million kWh saved in our stores and distribution centres (RSC) through our Energy Efficiency Initiative. This is equivalent to powering 5,200 average Canadian homes for one year.

We implemented several industry best practices across all banners to improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption in our stores, including:

Retrofitted overhead lighting to high-efficiency LED lighting in 474 stores across the country.
Retrofitted case lighting to high-efficiency LED lighting in 377 stores across the country.
Recommissioned HVAC systems in 219 stores across the country to reduce energy consumption and extend the useful life of our operating equipment.
Installed strip curtains in 317 stores to keep the cold air inside walk-in fridges when opened.
Installed lighting controls in 312 stores to provide light when needed to minimize overall consumption.
Replaced existing evaporator fan motors with electronically commutated (EC) motors in 165 stores.

Highlights of How We’re Making a Difference

Grocery cart in a store with bright lights.

Embracing LED Lighting

Transitioning to LED lighting from incandescent or fluorescent reduces energy consumption by 40-60%. Over the last two years, we’ve replaced lighting in hundreds of stores with LED fixtures and lamps, and upgraded our overhead and case lighting. In addition to reducing our energy consumption, our LED lighting has a positive impact on our customer experience... Read More

Results are shared in the Goals & Progress section. Read Less

HVAC and Refrigeration Optimization

We extensively reviewed the refrigeration and heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) units across our business to ensure high efficiency. Our maintenance schedule ensures efficient operation for the intended lifetime of the equipment. After our refrigeration and HVAC units were recommissioned, we connected them to our Energy Dashboard. The Energy Dashboard is a reporting tool that helps monitor energy and equipment Key Performance Indicators in real-time with the help of a user-friendly interface to identify greater efficiencies... Read More

Results are shared in the Goals & Progress section. Read Less

Pilot Projects Matter

As we focus on the future and seek out new areas for improvement, we have conducted pilot tests in our stores on a range of new and emerging technologies for potential use in our Energy Efficiency Initiative. The pilots have included updated HVAC systems, indoor air destratification, refrigerated case shields and artificial intelligence. Several pilot tests revealed tangible results, enabling us to develop installation plans on a larger scale throughout our store network in fiscal 2021.

New Store Design

Our Energy Efficiency Initiative aims to make our stores operate more efficiently. Now, we apply key insights from the initiative when we design our new stores to take a sustainable, holistic approach. We’ve implemented new standards in lighting, HVAC, refrigeration systems and building controls to maximize energy efficiency and ensure long-term benefits.

Ribbon cutting ceremony at a Chalo FreshCo store opening.

Climate Action: Energy & Emissions