Sainsbury’s Puts the Spotlight on Energy Efficiency in Stores Across the UK

THE OPPORTUNITY

For the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, sustainability goals are a high priority. Sainsbury’s prides itself on doing the right thing for its customers – and creating a greener supermarket is chief among the company’s core values.

As noted by Paul Crewe, Sainsbury’s Head of Sustainability, Energy, Engineering & Environment, the company is committed to lowering the carbon emissions of its stores. In fact, Sainsbury’s aims to reduce absolute carbon emissions by 30 percent compared to 2005 baseline levels, as outlined in the supermarket’s Sustainability Plan.

The target has spurred numerous energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives across UK stores – and switching to LED lighting is a big step in the right direction. To that end, Sainsbury's is partnering with Current to become the first grocery retailer in the UK to completely upgrade all its supermarkets to LED lighting.

THE SOLUTION

To unlock substantial energy savings – and align with the company’s sustainability goals – Current has developed a large-scale, integrated lighting solution for Sainsbury’s.

The solution includes upgrading 250,000 LED fixtures across more than 450 stores over the next three years, cutting Sainsbury’s energy consumption by 58% and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3 percent annually.

The solution has four unique principles:

1. Current leverages its lighting retrofit pedigree in design, manufacturing, installation and project management to collaboratively build a customized solution to meet Sainsbury’s needs.
2. Current has adopted an agnostic product selection approach, finding the right product for the right application through the GE Store or externally.
3. Current takes ownership of the solution and required outputs, holding full responsibility and accountability for the successful execution.
4. The specification allows for the seamless lighting and intelligent environment integration.

THE RESULTS

Current is delivering the massive lighting retrofit as a turnkey service, embedding financing from GE Capital Industrial Finance with lighting design, product supply, installation, and project management services. The full LED conversion across all Sainsbury’s stores is scheduled to be completed by 2020.

By leveraging GE Capital financing capabilities and in-depth expertise, Current can provide a solution that will be paid over time through the savings it unlocks.

"For years, Sainsbury's has placed itself on a trajectory toward reducing its impact on the environment. At Current, we believe the adoption of energy efficient technology can be a core piece of building not only a more sustainable business, but also a more profitable one. We're proud to continue partnering with the Sainsbury's team, and this ambitious project represents the next step of that journey."
Pete Lau - CEO of European Operations | Current

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