NACS will soon launch its Green Toolkit, a first of its kind guide to help convenience and petroleum retailers implement a green and sustainable operation.
Developed by Insight Research, the NACS Green Toolkit is designed to provide solutions that help retailers cut expenses, increase efficiency and optimize operations. The Toolkit includes both short-term “quick wins” and long-term solutions to implementing a green and sustainable convenience store.
The material is organized in an easy-to-follow format enabling quick reference to low-cost tactics that can be adopted in everyday operations — whether retailers are at the beginning stages of a remodeling project or new store construction. Information is also supported by case studies from the following retailers: Tesco, Asda, Musgrave, 7-Eleven, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes, BP, Giant Eagle and Marks & Spencer.
Musgrave's SuperValu supermarket chain features in the Toolkit
The Toolkit addresses every system in a convenience store, offering energy efficient and cost-saving solutions in refrigeration, lighting, heating and ventilating and air conditioning, building construction, water, forecourt innovations, the use of energy management systems, alternative power sources, partnership opportunities, staff engagement and training and community involvement.
Launching the Green Toolkit, Arabella Lacarta, senior consultant, Insight Research, said: “Spiralling energy costs and a new awareness of the environment have put green initiatives at the top of the agenda for the global convenience industry.
“The NACS Green Toolkit looks at the ways that convenience operators have improved the impact of their stores on the environment, pleased their shoppers, improved sales and cut costs.”
Globally, retailers such as Asda Wal-Mart and Tesco are setting energy use reduction targets of at least 20 percent. Tesco’s award-winning ‘eco’ convenience format, meanwhile, has a 50 percent lower carbon footprint than older stores and between 30-40 percent reduced energy consumption.
Lacarta said cutting energy consumption was not just for international operators, however. “For smaller operators in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, cutting energy consumption is a clear win and becoming a strategic priority,” she said.
Bob Garrity, vice president of sustainability at Giant Eagle, a U.S. supermarket and convenience store chain in the mid-Atlantic states, agreed. “Energy saving doesn’t need any justification,” he said. “It’s just a slam dunk.”
The Green Toolkit launch could not be any more timely. Retail pressure to go green and embrace environmental criteria is growing, fuelled by consumer demand, media interest, competition and rising fuel costs.
Green issues are becoming more important to consumers across Europe and North America, reports NACS. International research company Nielsen has found 79 percent of global consumers are concerned about the environment.
There is also a growing interest in environmental brands and U.S. shoppers are predicted to double their spending on green products and services this year, according to a 2007 ImagePower Green Brands Survey.
But shoppers expect food retailers to take the lead – they are not willing to pay more for green or sustainable products and services, reports NACS.
Tesco’s research, for example, shows more than 60 percent of consumers feel it is the responsibility of large companies to lead the way in the fight against global warming. “Customers are driving us down this route,” says Tesco. “They tell us they want to know what they can do and want to see examples of how to contribute. They feel that large companies like us have a duty to drive technologies.”
Grocery and convenience retailers worldwide are adopting green strategies, reports NACS. Convenience stores, in particular, have enormous potential to improve their green image, which can suffer as a result of links with fuel and fast food.
According to the Green Toolkit, environmental messaging can drive traffic and loyalty, provided it is done in an authentic manner and aligned to core values. Ethical, environmental and community-led points of differentiation will also become more important.
Pre-order The NACS Green Toolkit: A Global Guide to Implementing a Green and Sustainable Convenience Store. NACS members can purchase the toolkit for $95. Non-members pay $995. New international NACS members receive the Toolkit for free!
To order the toolkit, e-mail Trisha Frazier at tfrazier@nacsonline.com or call (703) 518-4291.
For information on international membership, contact Neerja Kathuria at nkathuria@nacsonline.com or call (703) 518-4216).
For further information on the toolkit, contact Arabella Lacarta at arabella@insightresearch.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1938 556090