As the cost of living crisis continues to bite in South Africa, along with the country’s high energy costs and load shedding, many consumers are looking for ways to cut back on their monthly budgets, and so are big companies.
The Shoprite Group said that 1 million LED light bulbs had saved the company R346 million in electricity costs.
The group said that it had reduced its electricity consumption by 11.8% following the installation of 1 001 932 energy-efficient LED light bulbs at 1 647 of its supermarkets and distribution centres nationwide.
“This has eased pressure on the national electricity grid as well as generated savings of 164 million kWh and R346m in electricity costs for the group during its 2022/2023 financial year,” it said in a statement.
“By taking a proactive stance in energy planning, the Shoprite Group has bolstered its stores’ energy resilience to withstand both anticipated and unforeseen disruptions in energy supply and electricity tariffs,” said Sanjeev Raghubir, Shoprite Group sustainability manager.
The retailer said its investment in its LED replacement project, which began in 2017, totalled R371.1m to date, including R48.7m over the past year.
“LED lamps are typically 50% more energy efficient than fluorescent lamps and we encourage everyone to play their part in reducing their energy consumption to stabilise our national grid,” Raghubir said.
The LED replacement project formed part of the group’s strategy to improve energy efficiency as much as possible and then to use renewable energy across its operations, including distribution centres, trucks and trailers.
In addition to the LED installations, the retailer has more than doubled its installed capacity of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the past two years.
At present, 71 sites covering 174 534 m² are equipped with solar PV, resulting in a total installed capacity of 32 321kWp.
This is sufficient to power 4 554 average sized households annually.
The Shoprite Group aims to power 25% of its operations with renewable energy within the next five years as part of its commitment to reach science-based emission targets by 2050.
Installing solar PV on trailers is also a priority for the retailer as it enables drivers to switch off truck ignitions at delivery locations, reducing exhaust pollution while keeping the cold chain intact.
In 2022, it expanded the number of trailers in its fleet equipped with solar PV to 1 041.
These interventions have helped to reduce the group’s electricity costs, increased efficiency, and enhanced business resilience.
BUSINESS REPORT