Energy Cost Reduction Review and Implementation

CLIENT: A $1B+ national Big Box retailer

The challenge

This retailer believed there was an opportunity to reduce its energy costs. Further, many stores were old and capital was scarce. PwC Canada’s Retail Consulting Services had been successfully involved in other cost-reduction opportunities with this retailer, and due to its track record and energy expertise, was asked to lead this initiative.

Our approach

To ensure that a thorough review was conducted, PwC Canada’s Retail Consulting Services engaged in a bottoms-up review of the existing energy management program and processes. This included a detailed utility consumption analysis, benchmarking of energy usage to prioritize stores for project initiatives, and brainstorming scope of work to reduce energy consumption.

PwC Canada’s Retail Consulting Services collaborated with Management to identify energy awareness opportunities, government incentives, and conducted pilots to validate that projected financials from our business cases could indeed be translated into real dollar savings.

The result

• Retrofitted store lighting without impacting customer experience
• Executed store HVAC and refrigeration re-commissioning program
• Designed and launched energy awareness program
• Client achieved an 8% savings on annual utility costs.