Green Retailers

Contents

1. Green Retailers
2. How to be a green retailer
3. Case Study: Loose Fit surf shops and cafe
4. Save energy and money: Top tips

Save energy and money: Top tips

A typical shop can spend a fortune on heating, lighting, ventilation and refrigeration. For as long as energy prices are high and rising, saving power on any or all of them will make a big difference to your costs. Although a retailer needs energy to make it easy and enjoyable for customers to shop, there's often scope to make big savings without ruining the customer experience, and many energy-saving changes will improve it.

Here are some key suggestions from the Carbon Trust:

1. Switch off - it's obvious, but leaving shop, display or cabinet lights on outside of office hours is a waste. Labelling light switches will help you turn off the ones you don't need when restocking or cleaning. Make sure to switch everything you can off at night - you may be surprised at what doesn't need to be left running.
2. Maintain - costs creep up if equipment isn't properly maintained. Get fans, fridges, boilers/heaters and air conditioners serviced regularly, and make sure that heating and air conditioning never run at the same time. Keeping windows and skylights clean will help you keep the lights off longer.
3. Refurbish - technology is always improving, and equipment tends to become less efficient as it ages. Bulbs become dim over time, for example, and the newest energy-saving bulbs are brighter, more efficient and completely flicker-free. Heat-reflective glass will help to protect stock, and will keep your ventilation and cooling costs down.

Don't be afraid to invest money in energy-saving measures. Some of the cheapest (plastic curtains for open-fronted display fridges, for example) could pay for themselves several times over. If you need funding for bigger improvements, you may qualify for an energy-efficiency loan from the Carbon Trust, or a tax break on energy-efficient equipment through the enhanced capital allowances provision. If you want more detail you can download or order a paper copy of the Carbon Trust's energy-saving booklet for retailers.

Remember that being green may be good for more than your bottom line - doing it well could give your business a boost in the press or among bloggers, and raise its profile among potential customers. As Loose Fit's Jon Finch told us: "We've certainly found that the positive PR that we've achieved on the back of our efforts - both nationally, thanks to awards such as the Green Apple, but also within the surf community - has been tremendous."