Cutting energy consumption - Callan store’s sustainability success

A corporate sustainability strategy is achieving real, local results at the SuperValu supermarket in Callan.

Part of the Musgrave group, the Callan store is part of a company-wide plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
But not only has the programme seen emissions reduced, a side-effect of the strategy has seen a huge fall in energy consumption and a positive effect on energy bills.

Manager of Callan SuperValu, Dermot McCabe, explained his store has cut daytime energy consumption by 32% in one year.
It’s a welcome development in a year when energy costs per unit have risen.

“We changed all the lights in the shop and car park and all our refrigerators have changed,” Mr McCabe summed up the work so far.

Halogen bulbs in the lights have been replaced with LEDs and the most obvious change for customers with the new refrigerators is that they have doors, to keep in the cold.
LEDs are fast replacing the traditional halogen bulbs in domestic and public lighting settings as well.

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Consumption down
LED bulbs consume up to 75% less energy than halogen bulbs.
“Compared to two years ago, our electricity consumption is down 50%,” Mr McCabe told the Kilkenny People.
In the 12 months from January 2021 to January 2022 daytime units used in a month fell from 30,097 to 20,388. Night time unit usage fell from 8830 to 7769.

The value of the work is underlined by the jump in the monthly electricity bill for the store - despite the drop in energy consumption monthly bills have still increased by 31% since last year. But it could have been more without the sustainability works.

Musgrave HQ is so pleased with the success of the project in the Callan store it is now a flagship store within the group.

Work began in the Callan store about two years ago when it won the contract to host the local post office. The long-term project is still ongoing.
Mr McCabe said there have been grant supports for some of the work, and that the investment made in the building is well worth it.
He would encourage any other business to make the investment in infrastructural changes to reduce their energy consumption costs.

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Sustainability Fund
The Callan supermarket is one of 77 Musgrave stores to avail of its Sustainability Fund. Launched in June 2022, and running until the end of 2023, it provides a share of €25 million investment in SuperValu stores across the island of Ireland.

Some €7.9 million has been invested in sustainability initiatives across its stores in the first six months of the scheme. Of this €7.9 million, some €4.1 million was drawn down from the major sustainability fund announced by Musgrave in June 2022 while an additional €3.8 million spend has been matched by independent SuperValu retailers.

These retailers have achieved a reduction of 2,094 tonnes of carbon through the Musgrave Sustainability Fund already, which is equivalent to planting 78,615 trees.
Many other SuperValu retailers are planning to use the fund to introduce their own sustainability measures in 2023.

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This fund is part of the company’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon by 2040.
Through the fund, stores can avail of funding for LED lighting, refrigeration and freezer upgrades, electronic shelf edge labels (eSELs), solar panels, and electric delivery vans.