Why It Matters
Managing and reducing the amount of energy we use in our business is an important way we will make progress on our Climate Action Plan and achieve our targets to reduce emissions. We will also continue to choose the right technologies and solutions to create the best in-store and e-commerce shopping experiences for our customers in ways that use energy sustainably.
Our Approach
Our aim is to cut our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to improve and optimize our operating performance by choosing the right technologies to use less energy while still delivering great customer experiences.
Our Energy Management Program is governed and managed at the senior levels of our company with the support of dedicated teams. For our real estate team, senior executive responsibility sits with our SVP Real Estate and our VP Design, Maintenance & Building Standards, who oversee store design with an additional focus on our building standards, design innovation and environmental standards across all our banners. We also have a Real Estate and Sustainability Working Group responsible for providing direction to our maintenance and real estate teams on how to implement and execute the Energy Management Program. On our supply chain and logistics team, senior executive responsibility sits with our SVP Supply Chain, who is supported by our VP Integrated Supply Chain. This team leads monthly meetings focused on the progress of our national electronic logging device (ELD) rollout. Our governance structure ensures strong oversight of our strategies, delivery of our actions and accountability in execution.
We partner with many organizations to achieve our goal to reduce energy consumption, increase efficiencies and lower GHG emissions. We have worked with experts in refrigeration management and commissioning to implement our programs.
Managing Energy at Our Sites
In 2022, we updated the diagnostic assessment of carbon emissions and energy consumption in our buildings and related maintenance functions. Based on this, we developed a plan that will achieve carbon reductions by investing in refrigeration systems, reducing energy consumption and exploring power purchase agreements for renewable energy.
As we continue to implement our energy-management initiatives nationally, we prioritize locations in provinces with higher energy-related emissions intensity. We are making progress on refrigeration improvements, including:
- Installing CO2 refrigeration systems in new and renovated stores
- Upgrading HFC refrigeration to reduce operations and maintenance costs and to use refrigerants with lower global warming potential (GWP)
- Converting to more energy-efficient equipment and controls
Over the next decade we anticipate facing challenges around sourcing cleaner energy technologies, such as solar panels for our stores and warehouses, as demand for these technologies intensifies. We are planning ahead to address these potential challenges as part of our Climate Action Plan. In fiscal 2024, we took action to implement our Climate Action Plan (Phase 1: fiscal 2024–2026), prioritizing energy efficiency and other carbon-abatement projects.
As a good steward of the environment, we also continuously monitor our energy use to identify opportunities to reduce consumption. In addition, we have developed a list of standardized environmental criteria to effectively select programs that support our Climate Action Plan. This helps us align our real estate renovation projects to facilitate action on emissions reduction.
Growing Use of Renewable Energy
As part of achieving our operational emissions reduction target of 55% by 2030, we are exploring ways to reduce our energy consumption from non-renewable sources. In fiscal 2024, we piloted rooftop solar arrays at two Sobeys stores in Nova Scotia. Both locations have approximately 277 kW solar systems that are expected to save 45 tonnes of CO2e each year. We have also installed solar generation at our corporate offices in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, including a solar carport. These pilots add to work under way at Longo’s, where the team has installed solar panels in nine locations.
Managing Energy in Our Logistics
Managing energy responsibly also means focusing on the transportation of goods. Our supply chain fleet team leads planning, development and rollout of key programs to achieve cost efficiencies and reduce environmental impact.
We are developing a national fleet decarbonization roadmap to deploy EVs and other fuel- and energy-efficient fleet vehicles. We are also implementing a transportation management system to plan, execute and optimize the physical movement of goods. We’ve introduced lightweight fleet vehicles, engineered for fuel economy.
Highlights
Data-Driven Distribution
We’re improving store delivery notifications and fleet efficiency with a digital fleet management platform that tracks vehicles and other equipment. This platform enables Empire to reduce fuel consumption by optimizing driver behaviour and route management. Stores also receive notifications of incoming deliveries, allowing them to better manage their workforce and operations. In September 2023, we launched a national fleet maintenance and management solution that allows national fleet tracking, centralized data, planning tools and data-driven decision-making—all to improve efficiency in the transportation of goods.
Energy Optimization Tools
We continue to focus on energy-efficient operations in our stores and distribution centres. Ongoing initiatives include lighting retrofits, upgrades to HVAC controllers and variable-speed HVAC motor systems installations. In addition, we are deploying artificial intelligence and machine learning (AIML) technologies to support conservation measures in corporate stores over the coming year. These tools will allow us to quickly analyze trends to predict and address issues before they impact operations.
EV Charging Expansion
In Quebec, the Fonds Éco IGA and IGA merchants are making electric vehicle transportation more accessible thanks to RechargÉco charging stations installed in supermarket parking lots. These are Level 3 charging stations, among the fastest on the market, which can charge a car in 20 minutes, on average. More than 100 charging stations were installed at 51 stores by the end of 2023. Each month, revenue from charging stations is donated to local charities, enabling community support in addition to environmental benefits.
In early 2024, Longo’s launched a cutting-edge battery-powered EV charging solution in North Oakville, Ontario. The new charging facility combines seven Level 3 chargers with a battery system that can also provide some backup power to the store in the event of a power outage. Longo’s is committed to having electric vehicle charging stations available at all feasible stores by 2025.
Electricity in Motion
As part of our Climate Action Plan, we are investing in the energy efficiency of our supply chain and fleet vehicles by installing smart technology on transport trucks to manage refrigeration more efficiently and by optimizing route selection to reduce fuel and energy consumption. In fiscal 2024, we procured Level 3 charging infrastructure to pilot Class 8 trucks in our Quebec-based fleet. We aim to initiate the pilot in fiscal 2025. The learnings from the pilot will inform our go-forward strategy on fleet electrification.
Champions
Advancing energy management in our stores reduces our demand on provincial power grids, improves resiliency and decreases our carbon footprint. We made impactful strides this year with new technologies, insights and projects.”
Meagan Sykes, Energy Manager, Real Estate, Design, Maintenance & Building Standards
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Our work to use energy more sustainably links with our Climate Action Plan and approach to environmental management.
As a family nurturing families, we want to ensure Canadians are taken care of today, tomorrow and in the future. By doing OurPartR for the environment, we hope to inspire our customers to do theirs. Every step we take together—big or small—can make a difference.
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