Current, powered by GE Helps Sainsbury’s Become First U.K. Supermarket to Switch to 100% LED Lighting, Cutting Energy Consumption by 58%

In the country’s largest deal of its kind, Current will upgrade 250,000 LED fixtures across more than 450 stores, cutting Sainsbury’s lighting energy consumption by 58 percent and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 3.4 percent annually.

Paul Crewe, Sainsbury’s Head of Sustainability, Energy, Engineering & Environment, said:

“At Sainsbury’s we’re committed to lowering the carbon emissions of our stores, so we’re proud to be the first supermarket to switch our large stores entirely to LED lighting. We’re always looking for new ways of achieving our sustainability goals, and switching to LED lighting is a big step in the right direction. We’ve almost halved the carbon emissions of our stores since 2005, and in the last 12 months reduced our electricity use by 11.6 percent despite growing our operation by 54.2 percent. This step will enable us to make significant reductions in carbon emissions. Our customers expect us to do the right thing on their behalf, and they can be reassured that, day or night, when they visit a Sainsbury’s supermarket, we’ve made a significant in-road into creating a greener supermarket for them.”

The project will support Sainsbury’s on its journey to achieve commitments set out in the supermarket’s Sustainability Plan, which calls for Sainsbury’s to reduce absolute carbon emissions by 30 percent compared to 2005 baseline levels. The target has spurred numerous energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives across its many U.K. stores, from LED retrofits to solar panels, biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps. To date, Sainsbury’s has already cut absolute carbon emissions by more than 20 percent and is on track to achieve its 2020 target.

Pete Lau, CEO of Current’s European operations, said:

“For years, Sainsbury’s has placed itself on a trajectory toward reducing its impact on the environment. At Current, we believe the adoption of energy efficient technology can be a core piece of building not only a more sustainable business, but also a more profitable one. We’re proud to continue partnering with the Sainsbury’s team, and this ambitious project represents the next step of that journey.”

Current is delivering the massive lighting retrofit as a turnkey service, embedding financing from GE Capital Industrial Finance with lighting design, product supply, installation and project management services. The full LED conversion across all Sainsbury’s stores is scheduled to be completed by 2020.

About Sainsbury’s:

Sainsbury’s commitment to helping customers live well for less has been at the heart of what we do since 1869. Today that means making our customers’ lives better and easier every day by offering great quality and service at fair prices – across food, clothing, general merchandise and financial services – whenever and wherever they want it.

As our customers’ lives change, so will our business. Sainsbury's acquired Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Habitat, on 2 September 2016, creating one of the UK’s leading food and non-food retailers - a multi-product, multi-channel business with fast delivery networks. J Sainsbury plc operates over 2,000 stores – 601 supermarkets, 782 convenience stores, 837 Argos stores (including concessions) and three flagship Habitat stores – together with major online channels for food, clothing, general merchandise and financial services. We sell over 90,000 products and employs 195,000 colleagues across the UK and Ireland.

Sainsbury’s Bank offers accessible financial services products such as credit cards, insurance, travel money and personal loans that reward customers. Our vision is to be the most trusted retailer where people love to work and shop. Our colleagues, strong culture and values are integral to achieving this vision and driving our success – now and in the future.

About Current, powered by GE:

Current is the digital engine for intelligent environments. A first-of-its-kind startup within the walls of GE (NYSE: GE), Current blends advanced energy technologies like LED and solar with networked sensors and software to make commercial buildings and industrial facilities more energy efficient & productive. Backed by the power of Predix*, GE’s platform for the Industrial Internet, and a broad ecosystem of technology partners, Current is helping businesses and cities unlock hidden value and realize the potential of their environments. www.currentbyge.com

About GE:

GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com

*Trademark and/or Service Mark of General Electric Company

GE
Nikolas Noel, 502-544-5929
[email protected]

In the country’s largest deal of its kind, Current will upgrade 250,000 LED fixtures across more than 450 stores, cutting Sainsbury’s lighting energy consumption by 58 percent and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 3.4 percent annually.

Paul Crewe, Sainsbury’s Head of Sustainability, Energy, Engineering & Environment, said:

“At Sainsbury’s we’re committed to lowering the carbon emissions of our stores, so we’re proud to be the first supermarket to switch our large stores entirely to LED lighting. We’re always looking for new ways of achieving our sustainability goals, and switching to LED lighting is a big step in the right direction. We’ve almost halved the carbon emissions of our stores since 2005, and in the last 12 months reduced our electricity use by 11.6 percent despite growing our operation by 54.2 percent. This step will enable us to make significant reductions in carbon emissions. Our customers expect us to do the right thing on their behalf, and they can be reassured that, day or night, when they visit a Sainsbury’s supermarket, we’ve made a significant in-road into creating a greener supermarket for them.”

The project will support Sainsbury’s on its journey to achieve commitments set out in the supermarket’s Sustainability Plan, which calls for Sainsbury’s to reduce absolute carbon emissions by 30 percent compared to 2005 baseline levels. The target has spurred numerous energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives across its many U.K. stores, from LED retrofits to solar panels, biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps. To date, Sainsbury’s has already cut absolute carbon emissions by more than 20 percent and is on track to achieve its 2020 target.

Pete Lau, CEO of Current’s European operations, said:

“For years, Sainsbury’s has placed itself on a trajectory toward reducing its impact on the environment. At Current, we believe the adoption of energy efficient technology can be a core piece of building not only a more sustainable business, but also a more profitable one. We’re proud to continue partnering with the Sainsbury’s team, and this ambitious project represents the next step of that journey.”

Current is delivering the massive lighting retrofit as a turnkey service, embedding financing from GE Capital Industrial Finance with lighting design, product supply, installation and project management services. The full LED conversion across all Sainsbury’s stores is scheduled to be completed by 2020.

About Sainsbury’s:

Sainsbury’s commitment to helping customers live well for less has been at the heart of what we do since 1869. Today that means making our customers’ lives better and easier every day by offering great quality and service at fair prices – across food, clothing, general merchandise and financial services – whenever and wherever they want it.

As our customers’ lives change, so will our business. Sainsbury's acquired Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Habitat, on 2 September 2016, creating one of the UK’s leading food and non-food retailers - a multi-product, multi-channel business with fast delivery networks. J Sainsbury plc operates over 2,000 stores – 601 supermarkets, 782 convenience stores, 837 Argos stores (including concessions) and three flagship Habitat stores – together with major online channels for food, clothing, general merchandise and financial services. We sell over 90,000 products and employs 195,000 colleagues across the UK and Ireland.

Sainsbury’s Bank offers accessible financial services products such as credit cards, insurance, travel money and personal loans that reward customers. Our vision is to be the most trusted retailer where people love to work and shop. Our colleagues, strong culture and values are integral to achieving this vision and driving our success – now and in the future.

About Current, powered by GE:

Current is the digital engine for intelligent environments. A first-of-its-kind startup within the walls of GE (NYSE: GE), Current blends advanced energy technologies like LED and solar with networked sensors and software to make commercial buildings and industrial facilities more energy efficient & productive. Backed by the power of Predix*, GE’s platform for the Industrial Internet, and a broad ecosystem of technology partners, Current is helping businesses and cities unlock hidden value and realize the potential of their environments. www.currentbyge.com

About GE:

GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com

*Trademark and/or Service Mark of General Electric Company

GE
Nikolas Noel, 502-544-5929
[email protected]