SuperValu Loughrea and Centra Lough Atalia 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 Galway stores used the SEAI grant to add solar panels in both stores, the results of which is the energy equivalent of powering 36 Irish houses per year. These new energy efficient upgrades, combined with previous works in store amount to 153,200 KWH of energy per year, an overall carbon reduction of 34% for SuperValu Loughrea, and 60% for Centra Lough Atalia.
Michael McInerney, owner of SuperValu Loughrea said as a business, we aim to find sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions, wherever we can - this means we can not only reduce our energy bills but also do our best for the planet. We hope that this inspires other businesses to implement similar sustainability measures.”
Alan Kearney, Owner of Centra Lough Atalia said that having previously upgraded our LED lighting and refrigeration through this initiative, we are proud to continue improving our store’s sustainability – something at the forefront of our minds.”
Centra Loughrea and Centra Lough Atalia are two of 25 stores nationwide who were 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.
The SEAI partnership complements Musgrave’s overall sustainability strategy and commitment to achieving a net zero carbon target by 2040.
In addition to this Centra and 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, Centra and 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, Centra and 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 Centra and SuperValu through the years.
“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 Centra Loughrea and SuperValu Lough Atalia for collaborating with us once again on this important initiative,” she added.
Centra and 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. Centra and 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
