The supermarket sector in France has agreed on an "energy saving" plan that will be implemented in autumn in France, according to a statement released on Monday. This in a bid to cope with the risk of shortages linked to the war in Ukraine, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Faced with the risk of electricity supply shortages announced by the government for this winter", the Perifem federation, which brings together all the players in the retail sector to take action on energy and environmental issues, has defined "common and concrete measures" to reduce the energy consumption of shops, starting on 15 October.
It is planned to switch off illuminated signs "as soon as the shop closes" - as opposed to generally one hour after closing at present - and to "systematically reduce light intensity", by reducing the lighting of the sales area by half before the public arrives and by 30% during "critical consumption periods".
Other measures are also planned, such as "cutting off air renewal at night, shifting the production of ice" and emergency measures such as lowering the temperature in sales outlets to 17 degrees this autumn and winter, if requested by a regulatory authority.
Energy 'sobriety plan'
French president Emmanuel Macron explained on 14 July that the government was preparing an energy "sobriety plan" to deal with the risk of shortages linked to the war in Ukraine, calling for "a collective return to a logic of sobriety".
These initial measures, which have been adopted by supermarket chains such as E.Leclerc, Carrefour, Système U, Les Mousquetaires Intermarché, Auchan, Casino, Franprix, Monoprix, Lidl and Picard, are also measures for the brands to save on electricity costs.
While "the electricity bill represented 30%" of the net result of the brands "before the recent surge in energy costs", it is "essential to reduce the energy bill and to mobilise together to avoid too great a repercussion on prices for consumers", recognises the federation, while the Élan Law (Loi Elan) also provides for a reduction in the energy consumption of shops by 40% by 2030.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Energy transition minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, welcomed in a press release these "first commitments announced by Perifem".
"This is a first step that has been taken, with immediate measures, which the minister had called for," her office said, while calling for "continuing this work and going further", because "it is a matter of taking all the measures that will produce immediate effects to get through the winter, but also to sustainably reduce our greenhouse gas emissions."
The Perifem federation also wants to believe that this protocol can serve "as a basis for all trade and distribution federations to generalise these measures", which will be presented to them "at a meeting on 26 July".
(with wires)
