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| SPAR triggers EUR 50 million “green investment”  For over six months now, SPAR's two climate-friendly supermarkets in Engertstrasse, Vienna and Murau in Styria have been open for business and feeding back information on how their "green" technology is working in practice. The initial findings on the new technologies are now available and the company's high expectations have been met in full. Among the facts that emerged was that, along with the HVAC systems, the lighting is proving a major energy consumer. SPAR promptly responded by triggering an investment of EUR 50 million in energy-efficient lighting solutions from the Zumtobel company of Austria.When SPAR opened two climate-friendly SPAR supermarkets in Austria on September 29 and 30, 2010 – one in Vienna and the other in Murau in the Styria region – the company had clear goals in mind: "First of all we wanted to try out new technologies at these locations to see how they performed in everyday operation before considering a roll-out at all SPAR locations in Austria. That's in line with our goal of using new technologies to cut energy consumption by at least a third at every SPAR outlet that we open or renovate. Secondly, we were out get the message across to our customers that climate protection now affects each and every one of us and is a key topic for the future. And finally, of course, we were out to save energy at these locations from the outset and thereby reduce our CO2 footprint, " said SPAR board member Hans K. Reisch explaining the thinking behind the two climate-friendly SPAR supermarkets. Six months on, the feedback on the technical performance as well as from SPAR's customers has been very positive. "The budgeted savings of 80 (Murau) and 50 (Vienna) tonnes of CO2 a year are looking perfectly feasible, although it remains to be seen what the summer months will bring before we draw any conclusions about full-year operations across all four seasons, " said Reisch. "We've also encountered substantial interest among our customers at these locations and there's been quite an echo in the national and international retail trade." At the beginning of 2011, for example, a delegation of US building experts visited the climate-friendly SPAR market in Vienna and said they couldn't think of a single supermarket in the United States that could currently match it for technical innovation. write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Construction News :: home page |