Energy management

Resources

ENERGY-EFFICIENT STORES

By coming up with an innovative and future-proof concept for stores, Ernsting’s family has been contributing to energy efficiency, and helping to protect the environment, since 2007. We are making great efforts to improve energy efficiency in our stores. The technical systems in our stores in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are standardised, controlled by a web-based regulation system and monitored at a higher level. The use of modern lighting technology and an innovative heat pump system for heating and cooling significantly reduces energy consumption. It also means that the use of fossil fuels can be completely dispensed with. Our innovative energy concept was even awarded the EHI Energy Management Award in 2014. The energy concept is applied to every single one of our construction projects, so by 2025/26 almost 100% of our stores will be energy-efficient.

Resources

USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

Ernsting’s family uses 100 per cent renewable electricity. We have completely switched over to green electricity for power supply for our stores and company buildings. From lighting to air conditioning, our energy requirements is covered by renewable hydropower and is almost completely free from CO2 emissions. The electricity generation process meets the strict criteria of the “CMS Standard Generation EE” from TÜV SÜD for renewable energy sources. An annual audit of the electricity supplier regularly provides proof that these criteria are actually met. Every year, this measure saves 22,000 tonnes of CO2 compared to a conventional electricity supply. This is equivalent to approximately 169 million kilometres by car.

Resources

PRODUCTION OF GREEN ELECTRICITY

Ernsting’s family uses renewable energy sources and produces environmentally friendly electricity. This electricity is generated by large photovoltaic systems in Coesfeld-Lette. The high-bay warehouse, which was built in 2012, is self-supporting in terms of energy consumption thanks to the photovoltaic system installed on the roof and integrated into the facade. Our photovoltaic systems produce around 280,000 kWh of electricity a year. This is enough electricity to meet the annual needs of around 80 average households, which corresponds to a CO2 saving of around 150 tonnes. We always check to see whether its possible to add a photovoltaic system to new construction projects, as is the case with our logistics’ expansion. Here we are installing a photovoltaic system with an output of 200 kilowatts.