Swift reaches 100 stores with rooftop solar energy generation
16 | 05 | 2023
Swift, a JBS business recognized for its excellence in frozen foods, has reached the milestone of 100 stores with photovoltaic solar panels installed on their roofs. The result is part of the company’s strategy to have 100% of the electricity consumed by its stores supplied by renewable and clean sources of energy by 2025. The innovative initiative in Brazilian retail is developed in partnership with Âmbar Energia, an energy solutions company owned by J&F Investimentos.
“Reaching this important milestone of 100 stores with solar roofs strengthens Swift’s sustainability agenda, and reduces the carbon footprint of our operations. In line with our commitment to the preservation of the environment, Swift has been advancing in the use of clean and renewable energy, in its own stores and mobile units (vans), since 2019,” highlights the Chief Financial Officer responsible for Swift’s Sustainability programs, Raphael Jacob.
In total, 4,801 solar panels have already been installed on the roofs of Swift’s stores, occupying an area of 20,000 square meters. Together, the photovoltaic systems add up to an installed capacity of 2.3 Megawatt-peak (MWp), enough to supply electricity for 250 households. In 2022, the solar roofs produced 1.019 million kWh, avoiding the emission of 643,251 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is equivalent to planting 922 trees per year.
By prioritizing the solar solution in its operations, Swift reduces the carbon emissions of the so-called “scope 2”, related to electricity consumption, and reinforces its alignment with JBS’s commitment to becoming Net Zero by 2040. The goal is to eliminate the Company’s net greenhouse gas emissions. “The installation of Swift’s solar rooftops adds to a series of initiatives we are developing to bring more sustainability and efficiency to our operations, in line with our commitment to be Net Zero,” says the Director of Sustainability at JBS in Brazil, Maurício Bauer.
Currently, Swift has retail stores in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Goiás, and the Federal District. The group includes physical stores, mobile stores (vans), and store-in-store points of sale located inside partner retailers.
A Bigger Plan
Besides the 100 establishments with their own power generation through solar panels on the roofs, Swift’s stores are also supplied by solar farms. Currently, 45 stores of the brand receive energy from photovoltaic power plants (PVPs), such as the PVP Âmbar Porto Feliz and the PVP Âmbar Saltinho, in a small city in São Paulo, and the PVP installed at Flora’s distribution center, J&F’s hygiene and cosmetics company, owned by Âmbar Energia. So far, Âmbar has invested R$50 million in Swift’s solar energy projects from a total of R$105 million.
Since 2021, Âmbar has been diversifying its operations and expanding its investments in photovoltaic energy. “With the demand from major partners such as JBS and Brazil’s potential for photovoltaic energy generation, we decided that this source would be a priority in our expansion plan,” says the company’s president, Marcelo Zanatta. The development and management of energy solutions, as in the project with Swift, is one of the company’s main growth strategies. Âmbar also operates power generation plants powered by natural gas, among other businesses.
The rooftops and solar farms that supply Swift’s stores have a total installed capacity of 5.7 MWp, enough to supply 11% of the energy consumed by the stores. Currently, the emission avoided by these enterprises is 2,531 thousand tons of CO2 per year, a volume equivalent to planting 3,772 thousand trees per year.
Swift’s 40 mobile stores, vans that serve residential condos, are also equipped with solar panels to supply the vehicles’ electrical power, as well as refrigerators and other components. Besides the use of renewable energy, Swift’s establishments gather a series of initiatives to make their operations more sustainable. To reduce the consumption of electricity, each store has low energy consumption refrigerators with CO2 emissions up to 44% lower than traditional models.
The stores’ parking lots use the so-called “Green Floor”, a concrete block developed by JBS Environmental that contains in its formulation plastic from in natura product packaging that could not be recycled. The company is a partner of the Eureciclo Initiative for environmental compensation of 100% of its packaging, preventing about 2 thousand tons of plastic, glass, metal, and paper per year be sent to landfills. In addition, the Good for You product line uses green plastic (from sugar cane) as raw material for its packaging.
More information about all of Swift’s sustainable initiatives can be found on the website:
https://respeitoaoplaneta.swift.com.br
Escrito por: Oxigenweb