Meijer
At a Glance
Industry
Retail and Apparel
Project Types
Clean and Renewable Energy, Commercial Energy Efficiency, Data Analysis, Goals/Targets, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2018
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
Summary
Ubaid Haroon gathered greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data to close Meijer data gaps, calculated historical emissions, and projected future emissions based on identified energy efficiency projects and utility commitments to renewable energy.
Goals
Meijer is a big-box retailer that operates six food manufacturing facilities, five distribution centers, and more than 240 supercenters and gas stations across six states. The company asked EDF Climate Corps fellow Ubaid Haroon to help quantify Meijer’s historical GHG emissions as far back as available data would allow, forecast future emissions for the next five years, and propose a corporate GHG intensity reduction goal.
Solutions
Haroon worked with the company’s various teams and utility providers to gather data on total energy consumption, emissions data for refrigeration and logistics activities, future energy efficiency projects, and projected future growth. With these data, he was able to forecast changes in Meijer’s GHG intensity. Based on the results, Haroon proposed a GHG intensity reduction goal that was ambitious, yet achievable. This work was essential to setting a defensible company emissions goal that could be incorporated into Meijer’s business strategy. His recommendations included:
- Implementing the Five-Year Engineering Plan of energy efficiency projects
- Evaluating renewable energy
- Understanding Scope 3 emissions
- Evaluating load-shedding procedures at refrigerated and cooled facilities
Potential Impact
Haroon’s recommendations enable Meijer to make a public GHG intensity reduction goal, which can further drive carbon-reduction activities.