Centra Mullingar install sustainability upgrade equivalent of powering 21 houses
'Powering a brighter tomorrow'
Centra Mullingar has joined forces with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to spearhead environmental change in the retail sector, demonstrating their commitment to energy reduction and sustainable business.
The Westmeath store used the SEAI grant to install 120 new solar panels, the results of which is the energy equivalent of powering 21 Irish houses per year.
These new energy efficient upgrades, combined with previous works in store amount to 88,106 KWH of energy per year, a 60% overall carbon reduction for the store.
Ciaran O’Brien, owner of Centra Mullingar, said: “We were delighted to receive funding to install solar panels which are currently providing up to 30% of our power, so we are extremely proud to do our bit to help the environment.
“We believe in encouraging sustainability in and we hope this may inspire others in the community to take the plunge and implement similar measures in their own homes or organisations.”
Centra Mullingar is one of 25 stores nationwide that took part in the ‘Building Sustainable Communities’ initiative this year, identifying and upgrading areas in their own operations which can be made to reduce energy costs, fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions.
The combined energy savings from the stores is 3.7 million KWH, enough to power 880 Irish homes.
The SEAI partnership complements Musgrave’s overall sustainability strategy and commitment to achieving a net zero carbon target by 2040.
In addition to this, Centra are continuing their long-standing objective to bettering their surrounding communities by nominating community buildings and clubs across the country to benefit from the scheme.
For the first time, this year’s initiative also sees a contribution made to not-for-profit affordable housing charity Clúid Housing, supporting 40 Dublin based Clúid houses to raise their BER (Building Energy Certificate) rating from D2 to B2.
Through this initiative, Centra demonstrate their commitment to continue developing a sustainable Irish retail sector by reducing store energy costs, fossil fuel usage and zero carbon emissions. As well as that, Centra also cement their commitment to communities across Ireland by making sustainability improvements to both community organisations and affordable homes.
Tanya Osborne, CEG (Community Energy Grants) Programme executive at SEAI, said that SEAI’s mission is to highlight the importance of sustainable energy and celebrated the work achieved in collaboration with Centra through the years.
“Creating a more sustainable society is at the core of everything we do at SEAI, and we firmly believe in the importance of working together to enact change. SEAI works with individuals, businesses and organisations across Ireland by providing grant support for much-needed energy upgrades.
“‘Building Sustainable Communities’ closely aligns with our values and demonstrates the power of businesses and communities coming together. We are very grateful to Centra Mullingar for collaborating with us once again on this important initiative.”
Centra are part of the Musgrave Group, Ireland’s largest grocery and food distributors. With 220 stores throughout Ireland, SuperValu has served the people of Ireland for over 30 years and are deeply engrained in the roots of the Irish communities that they have stores. Centra maintains a reputation for quality, value and friendly service, with stores in over 465 locations throughout the country.
To learn how you can make small changes with a big impact see www.supervalu.ie/about/sustainability, www.centra.ie, www.musgravemarketplace.ie