ALDI Australia powers its operations with 100 per cent renewable electricity and is currently trialling natural refrigerant technology.
ALDI Australia has today announced it has achieved its commitment to power its operations with 100 per cent renewable electricity six months ahead of schedule.
This milestone establishes ALDI as the first supermarket in Australia to have all offices, stores and warehouses powered using only renewable electricity sources, and results in a reduction of the company’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 85 per cent.
The transition was achieved using a three-pronged approach comprising of on-site generation via its extensive network of solar panels across stores and Distribution Centres, offsite generation through Power Purchase Agreements with two wind farms, and the acquisition of market renewable energy certificates.
By achieving its 100 per cent renewable electricity commitment, the supermarket will annually prevent over 274,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere which is equivalent to powering 59,677 Australian homes.
ALDI Australia CEO, Tom Daunt, said that as the 67th biggest user of electricity in Australia the company had a responsibility to reduce its environmental impact.
ALDI is already generating energy from its wind-farm investments with ten-year Power Purchase Agreements with Tilt Renewables’ Dundonnell Wind Farm, based in western Victoria, and RATCH-Australia’s newest wind farm – Collector Wind Farm located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales.
To generate clean energy onsite, the supermarket continues to install solar panels across its network of freestanding stores.
Since commencing its solar installation program in 2015, ALDI will have installed more than 104,000 panels across 274 stores and six Distribution Centres by the end of the year.
ALDI’s industry partner Epho, who was recently acquired by AGL, has made up the lion’s share of its extensive solar rollout, having contributed 24.5 Megawatts of power to the supermarket’s total electricity requirements.
The benefits of the partnership with Epho extends beyond generating clean electricity, having enabled 150 Epho employees and contractors across the country to remain in their jobs during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
ALDI has also taken steps to reduce its total electricity usage implementing energy efficiency measures like LED lights reducing total lighting energy consumption by over 50 per cent, as well as trialling natural refrigerant technology.
By 2025, ALDI aims to send zero waste to landfill which includes a goal to achieve zero food waste sent to landfill by 2023.
The program will see ALDI expand segregated waste collection at stores and identify closed loop recycling opportunities. It also aims to reduce at least a quarter of all plastics and packaging from its own brand products, as well as remove certain single-use and problematic plastics from its range.