ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Reducing c-store energy costs boosts profitability and helps meet sustainability goal. NACS is creating a benchmark to measure energy use within the industry and help earn the coveted Energy Star Certification.
Operating an energy-efficient convenience store can not only help businesses save money but also can build good will with sustainability-minded customers and make a positive impact on the community. Further, earning the Energy Star Certification—a brand recognized by more than 90% of Americans—can instantly give a store a leg up over its competitors and can be cited in ESG and CSR reports with confidence.
An Energy Star Certification does not yet exist for convenience stores; however, with retailer store data, NACS and EPA will build this rating tool which will be available as early as fall of 2021.
“Energy Star is the No. 1 most recognized environmental label in the world, so both employees and consumers understand easily what it means,” a manager of social responsibility with a NACS member retailer said. “An Energy Star certification is simple, straight forward and easy to track and we see this this as an opportunity to ‘tell our story’ more concisely to associates, customers and the public.”
Energy Star certified buildings save energy, save money, and help protect the environment by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings. To be certified as ENERGY STAR, a building must meet strict energy performance standards set by EPA. NACS and Energy Star are asking retailers to submit 2019 energy usage data via a survey. The deadline for survey completion is Friday, February 26.
Each year, EPA honors a group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements. The 2020 winners include Food Lion LLC, Target Corp. and The Kroger Co.
To learn more about the Energy Score survey, visit www.convenience.org/energyscore.
NACS partnered with Energy Star in 2020 to offer resources for retailers to offer solutions to reduce energy use in stores and offices. Visit www.convenience.org/energystar to download the resource guide and checklists. Also in 2020, NACS released the new NACS Sustainability Playbook with case studies and ideas to help reduce costs, meet and exceed sustainability goals and communication tools for customers and employees.