Since 1 April 2019, we have purchased all of our electricity from renewable sources. Dunelm manages energy usage and energy reduction initiatives on a site-by-site basis. ‘Smart’ meters are fitted to electricity and gas supplies and energy consumption is measured frequently with analytics tools available to help identify issues and opportunities to reduce usage. Building Management Systems (BMS), designed to optimise energy use and reduce accidental usage through systemised cut-offs, are fitted as standard across our estate.
Energy consumption is monitored by our Energy Manager in conjunction with a specialist energy partner. We target underperforming sites alongside the implementation of various energy reduction initiatives to maximise energy efficiency, while maintaining a comfortable trading environment for our customers and colleagues.
Electricity forms the majority of our energy usage and carbon emissions. Over the past year we have continued to invest in more energy-efficient LED lighting, and over 98% of our estate (179 out of 183 sites) now have this installed. During the year we completed LED upgrades at our Crewe, Newport, Rugby, Scunthorpe, Barnsley, Rustington, Hull and Shrewsbury stores and across our regional home delivery depots.
Raise awareness of good energy management across the business through internal communications.
Our Energy Manager attended store area meetings resulting in positive engagement with store and area managers, and we will continue to develop this. We were unable to attend all area meetings due to timing clashes and the restrictions of Covid-19.
Our specialist partner completed an assessment under phase 2 of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). The majority of the recommendations were ‘housekeeping’ improvements: all of them have been reviewed and are being actioned where appropriate. Others have been fed into the work being carried out by Carbon Trust on our behalf.
Test new technology that will further improve our energy performance by remotely detecting wasted or excessive energy usage.
We had mixed results. A trial to adjust the hours of operation of our heating and cooling in stores made the temperature uncomfortable for our colleagues and customers. A review by our specialist partner of how stores optimised energy usage did not identify any opportunities for improvement. However, we completed upgrades of external sensors during the year to enable us to make accurate LUX readings and so reduce the time when lights are switched on.
72%