Three Dublin SuperValu Stores, SuperValu Donabate, SuperValu Killestar and SuperValu Talbot Street have joined forces with SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) to spearhead environmental change in the retail sector, demonstrating their commitment to energy reduction and sustainable business.
The Dublin stores used the SEAI grant to upgrade their refrigeration, the combined results of which is the energy equivalent of powering over 38 Irish houses per year (14 for Donabate, 16 for Talbot Street and 8 for Killester). These new energy efficient upgrades, combined with previous works in store amount to 160,928KWH of energy per year, an overall carbon reduction of 34% for each of the three stores.
Robert Ward, Operations Manager for SuperValu Donabate, SuperValu Killester and SuperValu Talbot Street said: “The SEAI ‘Building Sustainable Communities’ initiative is so important in promoting sustainability across Irish retail, so we jumped at the chance to participate again this year. We upgraded our refrigeration across our three stores which has been an extremely positive development for us as a business, lowering our energy bills and allowing us to be a truly sustainable store.”
The SuperValu stores, who are operated by Kane McCarthy Groupare three of 25 stores nationwide who took part in the “Building Sustainable Communities” initiative this year, identifying and upgrading areas in their own operations which can be made to reduce energy costs, fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions. The combined energy savings from these stores is 3.7 million KWH, enough to power 880 Irish homes.
In addition to this, SuperValu are once again continuing their long-standing objective to bettering their surrounding local communities by nominating community buildings and clubs across the country to benefit from the scheme. For the first time, this year’s initiative also sees a contribution made to not-for-profit affordable housing charity Clúid Housing, supporting 40 Dublin based Clúid houses to raise their BER (Building Energy Certificate) rating from D2 to B2.
Through this initiative, SuperValu demonstrate their commitment to continue developing a sustainable Irish retail sector by reducing store energy costs, fossil fuel usage and zero carbon emissions. As well as this, SuperValu also cement their commitment to local communities across Ireland by making sustainability improvements to both local community organisations and affordable homes.
Tanya Osborne, CEG (Community Energy Grants) Programme Executive at SEAI said that SEAI’s mission is to highlight the importance of sustainable energy and celebrated the work achieved in collaboration with SuperValu through the years.
She said: “Creating a more sustainable society is at the core of everything we do at SEAI, and we firmly believe in the importance of working together to enact change. SEAI works with individuals, businesses, and organisations across Ireland by providing grant support for much-needed energy upgrades.
‘Building Sustainable Communities’ closely aligns with our values and demonstrates the power of businesses and communities coming together. We are very grateful to Kane & McCarthy Group for collaborating with us again on this important initiative.”
SuperValu are part of the Musgrave Group, Ireland’s largest grocery and food distributors. With 220 stores throughout Ireland, SuperValu has served the people of Ireland for over 30 years and are deeply engrained in the roots of the Irish communities that they have stores. SuperValu maintains a reputation for quality, value and friendly service, with stores in over 465 locations throughout the country.
To learn how you can make small changes with a big impact see www.supervalu.ie/about/sustainability, www.centra.ie, www.musgravemarketplace.ie
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