Reduced lighting, closed fridges… Large retailers are adapting to energy sobriety

The brands of retail compete in tricks to respect the 10% reduction in their energy consumption, requested by the government. Michel-Edouard Leclercchairman of the strategic committee of the E. Leclerc centers, announced Wednesday on BFM-TV a 30% reduction in the intensity of the lighting in its stores and the switching off of the lights “as soon as the last customers have left“. The heating, which representsa big expense item“, will be “reduced by the order of one degreeto approach 19 degrees. These arrangements will be put in placefrom next week» in all stores. The president of Leclerc agrees, they will also make it possible to “lower the bill“. “The distributor that will best control its energy costs will be the most competitive», adds Michel-Edouard Leclerc.

For his part, Dominique Schelcher, president of Système U, calls for “take stock of the seriousness of the energy price situation in large retailers“. At the microphone of Classic Radio this Thursday, he evokesworks“in its stores to install”a full rangeaiming to respect energy sobriety. “The most important point concerns the change of cold production with methods that consume less“, he points out. Dominique Schelcher also adds that the “fridges are closed», «the temperature dropped by two degrees» and the installation «photovoltaic panels» on the roofs of the infrastructures. “But that won’t be enough to cope with soaring prices“, he regrets.

Read alsoCarrefour’s plan to retain the most modest families

The Carrefour group, meanwhile, has already replaced its conventional lighting with LEDs and “100% of [ses] stores have been equipped with them since August“. The group also indicates the “deployment of centralized energy management tools and remote lighting intensity controls“. On the shelves, 90% of Carrefour supermarkets are equipped with closed doors on the cold units, in order to avoid energy loss. The “eco-gesturesare also taught to store teams, such as turning off bakery ovens after the last baking or cooling establishments with outside air at night.

For Carrefour, a 20% reduction in consumption by 2024

“We are going to accelerate our energy sobriety plan and aim for an energy reduction of more than 20% before 2024, of which 10% will be achieved in 2022“, precise Crossroads to Figaro. Alexandre Bombard, CEO of the group, adds that “given the size of our store network, our role within our sector, in contact with thousands of suppliers and millions of customers, we want to participate in the national effort and show that we can, together, by the addition of small and large gestures, in business, but also at home, make a difference“.

The group Casino underlines its energy commitment since 2007 with the creation of its subsidiary GreenYellow. Like its competitors, the organization has equipped its stores with LEDs and closed doors on cold cabinets. It has also set up energy performance contracts to reduce its reference consumption by at least 20%. Since 2008, solar power plants have been supplying 150 stores, out of the 11,500 spread across France. The group reports that between 2015 and 2021, its electricity consumption in kWh/m² has been reduced by 11%.

Finally, the group The Musketeers (Intermarché, Netto, Bricomarché, Bricorama) announces “fully commit to doing everything possible, as soon as possible, to reduce the energy consumption of the points of sale of its brands“, without detailing its measures.