Canadian Retailer - Fall 2014 - 10

REtAIL: At ISSuE

BRIght SAvINgS oN
ENERgy uSE AND coSt

retail council of canada (rcc), in partnership with ontario power
authority (opa), is helping retailers lower their energy consumption
while enhancing the look and feel of their stores, at no cost.
BY SEAN C. TARRY
AS Canada's leading voice of retail, RCC is com-

mitted to helping members reduce their energy
consumption. To that end, the association has
developed the Energy Bright Program. The program, made possible through the financial support of the OPA, promotes energy conservation
and management in the Ontario retail sector.

Who can participate?

All stakeholders who influence energy consumption in the retail environment including:
* Retailers of all sizes
* Service providers that work with retail customers within the industry
* Property managers that lease retail space
participant Services

All retailers will have access to webinars, a
monthly newsletter, a website with tools and resources, as well as guidance on how to access
electric utility incentives.
Retailers with an Ontario Corporate Energy
Spend greater than $500,000 can access custom energy management planning which may
include a host of services ranging from energy
audits to incentive application assistance.
Steps to participating in the Rcc Energy
Bright initiative:

Information Services:
* Visit www.rccenergybright.ca for useful resources and to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.
Custom Services:
* Meet with Energy Bright key account manager
* Sign participation agreement
* Conduct an energy management needs
assessment
* Develop the business case for energy efficiency
* Develop and implement an action plan
* Review progress and update action plan for
continuous improvement

cASE StuDy
Many retailers operating in ontario have taken advantage
of this amazing program, including the liquor control
board of ontario (lcbo), which has already experienced
incredible results.
energy consumption across the lcbo's network of 639
retail facilities is carefully tracked and analyzed by the
company, enabling it to target efficiency retrofits. and, as
lcbo's goals and objectives are always to improve energy
efficiency and identifying further opportunities to improve,
the rcc energy bright program fits nicely into its plans.
Michael bowman, lcbo's director, facilities, environmental and Safety, explains that the program assisted
the company in the facilitation of the application process,
providing technical support in completion of custom application and thereby accelerated the completion of the
incentive process.
"rcc helped us with several saveonenergy applications
to pursue an incentive for an led retrofit project," he says.
"Given that the project spanned several locations, the
energy bright staff were able to make use of a head office
approach to facilitate the application process, submitting
all applications through one ldc."
for lcbo, the project consisted of the replacement of
inefficient awning and wallpack lighting on the exterior of
105 stores across ontario with led fixtures. this project
is expected to save over 1.3 million kWh, translating into
savings of approximately 16,000 kWh per store, representing a reduction of 70 per cent of exterior fixture
annual consumption.
bowman explains that without the assistance of rcc and
opa, the retrofit would have cost the company more than
some might see it as being worth. However, bowman is
also quick to point out the fact that for lcbo, reducing
energy consumption is not only about saving money.
"it about helping to reduce the company's carbon footprint
in support of its corporate social responsibility mandate,"
he says. "While lcbo has utilized only one facet of the
energy bright program at this point in time, the overall
range of services are available in many areas to support
retail environments."
lcbo's objective was to reduce energy consumption across
its retail portfolio by ten per cent over five years. they've
already exceeded this target as of the end of year four, but
intend to continue to target further energy reduction.

For more information about RCC's Energy Bright Program and ways to get involved, visit www.rccenergybright.ca.

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cANADIAN REtAILER | fall 2014
http://www.rccenergybright.ca http://www.rccenergybright.ca
Canadian Retailer - Fall 2014

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