Following the last energy audit carried out, we have launched a plan to improve the Company’s consumption efficiency and energy supply, which will be integrated with new and additional renewable sources and latest-generation LED lighting. In terms of the purchase of energy on the free market, we are looking to reduce the share from traditional sources, instead increasing that obtained from alternative and renewable sources.

Two of our key priorities that we have set for ourselves are monitoring and ensuring the efficiency of our processes related to energy consumption and to the purchase of electricity, together with periodic audits, both for the head office and for our sales network. Every four years, we undergo an energy audit of our current electrical supplier, both for our stores and for our head office. This diagnosis allows us to identify any critical situations and, if possible, to act promptly through the implementation of mitigation actions, including with the adoption of new technologies. 

Compared to 2019 our energy consumption is 12% lower, also considering the launch of the plan to supply energy from renewable sources such as hydroelectric, wind and solar for the head office and for our stores. Thanks to this approach, we have avoided 422,400 kg of CO₂ emissions, equivalent to 12,609 trees planted.

The plan will enable us to purchase 100% of our energy from renewable sources by 2025.

Renewable energy purchase plan (%)

After installing the photovoltaic system at the Company’s Gallarate head office in 2020, in 2021 we carried out the complete relamping for our head office and stores, an effort that was completed at the beginning of 2022 with the replacement of all lighting fixtures with LED. This intervention is already allowing us to improve in 2022, generating an annual energy saving of 70% on lighting compared to our previous consumption. The savings will amount to 178 MWh.

In 2021, thanks to the use of photovoltaic panels, we produced 44.02 MWh of energy, equivalent to a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 17,200 kg, in turn the equivalent of 515 trees planted.

Thanks to these interventions, combined with the renewal of our corporate car fleet, in 2022 we will avoid emissions equivalent to 15,740 planted trees.

Avoided CO₂ emissions (%)

Our head office, located in Gallarate, in the province of Varese, consists of a seven-floor 5,000 m² building. The external windows are covered in protective films designed to limit the entry of heat.

In addition, during 2021, we installed sensors for the automatic switching on and off of lights and external air recovery systems (free cooling) which, especially in spring and autumn, allow us to take air from the outside, putting it in recirculation to cool off the internal environment. Thanks to the use of sensors, we have reduced the consumption of cooling and heating. In addition, we have installed a centralised home automation system that automates the shutdown of energy systems during night hours and on non-working days. We are committed to ensuring the well-being of the people who work in our head office and in our stores through proper climate management.

During 2021, we also completely renovated the outdoor parking lots and common areas to guarantee our users better access to the head office, as well as the opportunity to enjoy moments of leisure and relaxation during work breaks. As part of this renovation, we installed two JuicePole electric columns equipped with four connectors to facilitate charging both the vehicles in our corporate fleet, as well as employee and guest cars.

Following the installation of the first two 7 to 22 Kw electric columns in the parking lot of our head office in Gallarate, we also purchased our first two electric company cars (FIAT 500 model), which are used by employees for medium and short-haul trips and services. The long-term goal is to further increase the corporate car fleet in the next few years to increasingly reduce consumption and polluting emissions.