Carbon management

As part of its ongoing focus on reducing carbon emissions in its health and beauty stores, Boots UK has been working for two years on developing concepts for a lower carbon edge of town store.

Following fire damage to a store in Eastbourne, the Boots UK team used the necessary rebuild as an opportunity to trial new lower carbon initiatives.  The store was rebuilt and fitted out in four months and opened in April 2011.  Incorporating a range of around 20 different measures from smart metering to solar panels, via optimum use of daylight for ambient lighting, the new store is expected to achieve a one third reduction in total carbon emissions.  The trial also enables us to understand the potential for these different technology measures across the rest of the Boots store portfolio.  

Key measures that helped reduce carbon emissions in the Eastbourne store by approximately one third included:

• Sun pipes to capture sunlight and channel it to sales area
• Skylights in the roof to provide daylight contribution to non-sales areas
• Installation of highest efficiency lighting, including low energy LEDs in external signage
• Innovative air conditioning system with destratification fans to distribute heated or cooled air
• Highest efficiency boiler and chilling plant
• Ground source heat pumps to heat building more efficiently
• Solar photovoltaic panels on south-facing roof
• Voltage optimisation and smart metering to ensure precise control and monitoring of energy use

The opening of Boots’ Midnight Pharmacies
in 2006 was a major step forward in terms
of customer service and healthcare accessibility.  However, the specially designed signs outside the stores were in use 24 hours a day and they were using a lot of energy so we devised an innovative way of replacing the signs’ fluorescent tubes with LEDs which are far more energy-efficient.  

We estimated that each sign’s energy usage will drop from around 2,500W per hour to around just 50W - saving money and helping to cut overall carbon output by around 4 tonnes per year per fascia.  In addition, LEDs last much longer than fluorescent tubes so replacement and maintenance costs are lower.  

The signs have now been installed outside to over 145 Midnight Pharmacy stores.  In addition Boots UK are planning to trial new LED lighting inside many stores as the technology and quality continues to evolve.

This year, Alliance Healthcare UK implemented ‘Telematics’ technology across its fleet of vans to help monitor and manage CO₂ performance.

As fuel prices continued to increase in the year, Alliance Healthcare UK was keen to make efficiency savings by reducing unnecessary mileage and, at the same time, reducing its carbon emissions.  With approximately 1,000 vans making deliveries to pharmacies twice a day the new technology has been a positive introduction for the business.  

The ‘Telematics’ system, which takes the form of a small black box installed on the vehicle dashboard relays important, real-time information on the van’s journey and logs when, where and how each minute of the van’s journey is spent.  This also has some important advantages for drivers and allows the customer services department to respond to customers very quickly about the tracking of their orders.  

Total CO₂ emissions produced by the Group for the year ended 31 March 2011 were 416,391 tonnes, compared with 420,822 tonnes the previous year.  

In the year our CO₂ emissions reduced by 4,431 tonnes, with reductions in energy and product delivery achieved, partially offset by an increase in business travel.  Our approach to energy efficiency is a significant factor and is the key to achieving carbon reduction targets.  

Business travel increases partly reflect an increase in acquisition related travel by corporate and divisional personnel.

Total Group CO₂ emissions
By source
for the year ended 31 March 2011

Total Group CO₂ emissions
By source
for the year ended 31 March