It’s not easy being a retailer today. These organizations may have hundreds or thousands of sites across the globe, which makes it a challenge to plan and execute a holistic sustainability strategy. Grocery and convenience stores are a vital part of their communities, supplying fresh foods, jobs and even functioning as gathering spots. They also create a significant environmental impact. These impacts are becoming more scrutinized by regulators and other stakeholders. To manage resources and more positively impact their communities, these stores can turn to sustainability solutions to reduce resource use and related operating costs.

One common theme for these vertical markets is they have significant supply chains and very high resource usage. An example would be a typical grocery store with an average annual energy cost of $4 per square foot. A high percentage of this cost is for the electricity needed for lighting and refrigeration purposes. These industries will be very proactive in driving sustainability into robust supply chains.