GridPoint > Case Studies > National Retail Chain's Journey to Net Zero with Data-Driven Solutions

National Retail Chain's Journey to Net Zero with Data-Driven Solutions

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Identity & Authentication Management
Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Equipment & Machinery
Retail

Applicable Functions

Facility Management
Procurement

Use Cases

Building Energy Management
Retail Store Automation

Services

Hardware Design & Engineering Services

About The Customer

The customer is a top retailer based in Minnesota with nearly 2000 stores and 50 supply chain facilities across the US. The average retail store is 130,000 square feet, and the company is also rolling out smaller format stores in higher-density areas. They offer a wide variety of products from clothing to health and beauty items to groceries and supplies for the home. They aim to deliver outstanding value, continuous innovation, and exceptional guest experiences. The company has an internal ESG strategy, which includes a commitment to being net zero by 2040.

The Challenge

The Minnesota-based national retail chain, with nearly 2000 stores and 50 supply chain facilities across the US, was committed to achieving net zero by 2040. To reach this goal, the retailer had been implementing energy-saving strategies in their existing and new store designs since the 1990s. However, they faced challenges in managing their path to net zero. They were using utility bill data, engineering estimates, and energy modeling to plan, implement, and validate capital investments in energy-consuming assets and confirm ongoing operational efficiency. However, they lacked clear benchmarks for success. Additionally, they were deploying significant refrigeration equipment as part of their strategy to bring fresh groceries to every store, but they did not have a portfolio-wide view of energy-consuming assets to measure the full impact on energy usage. They needed an enterprise platform that provides asset-level, real-time data to support this deployment.

The Solution

In 2008, the retailer engaged GridPoint to implement a cost-effective, data-rich strategy that could grow into the future. GridPoint worked with the retailer to address each objective and goal. They rolled out asset-level submetering to verify and audit how much energy stores consume, understand real-time energy use at the equipment level, and track efficiency over time. GridPoint’s submetered data enabled the retailer to better understand their facilities at a granular level, guiding their sustainability strategy and making their facilities more efficient, all while rolling out their grocery concepts and pursuing long-term net-zero goals. The retailer also engaged GridPoint’s Energy Advisory Services team to help keep their facilities running smoothly by validating savings, continually analyzing the data, identifying efficiency opportunities, and correcting performance issues.

Operational Impact

GridPoint’s platform enabled the retailer to see enterprise-wide and asset-level data all in one convenient place to ensure their facilities are running efficiently. The retailer was able to identify trends in energy consumption and costly exceptions, establish more intelligent procurement strategies, validate their compliance in demand response programs, identify voltage imbalances and situations where three-phase motor damage might be occurring, monitor sites throughout a storm, assess damage, and power back up equipment carefully after the storm passed. They were also able to measure the success of new efficiency projects through submetered data and understand where they can add distributed energy resources to help offset the load increases and help properly size the equipment. The retailer amplified its leadership in energy management and sustainability, met its strategic, business, and financial objectives, and built a cost-effective foundation for future expansion.