Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Co-op trials reduced lighting to trim energy bills

Co-op enhances menopause policy
Representative iStock image
Getty Images

Co-op supermarkets and convenience stores are dimming the lighting in some of its stores to try to keep a lid on energy bills, recent reports stated.

The chain is reported to have said that it will introduce dimmer lighting to 500 of its stores, around a fifth of its total number in the the UK. According to its figures, the measures could reduce its electricity bills for a single store by up to £4,000 a year and it it is rolled out to all its 2,500 stores, the saving could be as much as £10 million, BBC reported.


The retailer said in its interim results in September that energy and wage inflation increased costs in the first half of 2022 by around £50m, while grocery sales grew driven by an increase in shopping frequency.

“We are trialing an energy-smart lighting initiative in a small number of our stores and are also reviewing how we can become a more energy-efficient business, without compromising safety and still achieving a positive store environment and shopping experience for our customers,” reports quoted a Co-op spokesman as saying.

Apart from Co-op, larger retailers like Tesco and Asda are also understood to be dimming lights in some bigger superstores to tackle rising energy costs. Sainsbury's lowers lighting when it is bright outside or during less busy hours under its long-running environmental plans to save energy and meet its goal of being net zero in its operations by 2035.

The National Grid has also announced it will launch a scheme from 1 November which incentivises businesses and households to reduce their electricity use at key times to help reduce pressure on the energy supply this winter.

The company said larger businesses will be paid for reducing demand, for example by shifting their times of energy use or switching to batteries or generators in peak times.

More for you

Budget 2024: Local shops to face significant new pressure

(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Budget 2024: Local shops to face significant new pressure

Local shops will face significant new pressures as a result of today’s Budget, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has warned.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget's impact will be felt unevenly across the UK’s 50,000 convenience stores, with some measures such as business rate relief and the increased employment allowance mitigating costs for smaller independent stores, while providing no help for chains and larger independent businesses.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office cash deposits and withdrawals
Post Office, DPD partners to rollout ‘Click and Collect’ services
Post Office, DPD partners to rollout ‘Click and Collect’ services

Parliament to launch inquiry into Post Office Horizon scandal compensation delays

Parliament is to launch an inquiry into delays in compensation settlements for sub postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.

The newly-formed Business and Trade Select Committee will call ministers, subpostmasters and their lawyers to give evidence next week with a second session to follow in mid-November. The Committee’s chair, Liam Byrne MP told ITV News that there was “definitely a delay” in people coming forward for payment.

Keep ReadingShow less
C-store body warns of 'inflation-busting increase in wage costs'
Woman Holding British Pound
Getty Images/iStockphoto

C-store body warns of 'inflation-busting increase in wage costs'

Convenience store body Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) today (30) has warned the Chancellor about the negative effects of the new National Living Wage (NLW) increase, a day after the Chancellor announced a pay rise for over 3 million workers next year, with NLW rates rising by 6.7 perc cent.

From April 2025, the NLW will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 while 18-20 National Minimum Wage will rise by £1.40 per hour to £10 - the largest increase on record, marking the first step towards a single adult rate.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bacup Wine and Convenience shop, 34 Burnley Road, Bacup.

Bacup Wine and Convenience shop, 34 Burnley Road, Bacup.

Robbie MacDonald via LDRS

Shop’s licence bid rejected over illegal vapes and ‘no regard’ for children’s safety

A Rossendale shop has had a licence bid rejected after repeatedly selling vapes to children and having illegal products on its premises.

Management at the Ibra Superstore at 34 Burnley Road, Bacup, have shown ‘no regard’ for children’s protection and safety, and have insufficient controls for licensing, Rossendale councillors have ruled.

Keep ReadingShow less
SPAR retailer hits target to secure £100,000 free stock from James Hall

SPAR retailer hits target to secure £100,000 free stock from James Hall

SPAR North of England retailer Dara Singh Randhawa’s family store has been awarded £100,000 of free stock after hitting all his targets since moving to the symbol.

Dara and his family, who have their SPAR store in Patrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, joined SPAR through its association with James Hall & Co. Ltd in August 2023 having taken the decision to maximise the store’s potential.

Keep ReadingShow less