| Sustainability focus: ene... | Nirmana

Through energy-awareness campaigns, we show our employees that their actions can also help reduce energy consumption. We focus on simple measures that make a difference, such as keeping doors closed, defrosting freezers and switching off the lights.

For more than ten years, we have exclusively built low-energy stores. These combine excellent insulation and airtightness with energy-efficient refrigeration systems, such as cold rooms and freezer units, heat recovery and LED lighting. In short, they consume very little energy. We have now built 156 low-energy stores and completed energy-saving renovations in 123 stores. We are also taking action across our distribution centres, head offices and production sites.

Our new distribution centre in Ollignies was completed in early 2024 and designed to be as energy-efficient as possible. High-speed doors in a separate airlock at the receiving area help limit temperature differences between the reception and storage areas. Motion sensors ensure that the LED lighting is only switched on when activity is detected.

In early 2025, we will complete the new building for our Fine Food Cheese production department in Halle. Here too, we will implement a wide range of energy-saving measures:

• Heating. The new production building will be heated entirely through energy recovery from the cooling system (low temperature). For domestic hot water production (high temperature), a booster heat pump will further increase the temperature of the recovered heat.
• Cooling. We will use propane chillers, controlled entirely in-house using variable-speed compressors.
• Ventilation. We will help regulate the temperature by recovering cold air in the production areas and warm air in the offices and changing rooms. By monitoring CO₂ levels in the offices, we can control ventilation very precisely.
• Temperature control. Automatic solar shading will make use of solar heat in winter and keep excess heat out in summer.

We are convinced that energy consumers, alongside production installations, play an important role in balancing the load on the public distribution grid. To prepare for increasing peaks in demand for renewable energy, we are launching a BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) pilot project in our central buildings.

We store sustainably generated electricity in a battery with a capacity of approximately 2 MW/2 MWh and release it only when electricity consumption is high or when the supply of renewable energy is insufficient to offset consumption. This allows us to shift as much of our energy consumption as possible to periods when green electricity production is high.

We remain committed to increasing the share of renewable energy, including by making our vehicle fleet greener and using fossil-free heating systems. Ninety-nine per cent of our electricity consumption comes from green sources.

• Use and procurement of renewable electricity: 278,917 MWh
• Electricity generated by Colruyt Group using solar panels: 18,175 MWh