Implementing Energy Savings at Scale Across Your Multi-Site Portfolio

Energy is one of the largest operational expenses for retail stores across the United States^[i]. For many retailers, keeping energy costs down can be a challenge. First, long operating hours and creating an optimal shopping experience often requires a lot of energy. Secondly, many retail stores lack the necessary technologies and insights designed specifically to properly manage, control and optimize their energy consumption.

When you consider a retailer with tens, hundreds or even thousands of stores, the complexities can grow exponentially when you consider variable store sizes and operating hours, different local climate nuances, or even specialized needs like refrigerated cases. Whatever the variables, accurately managing energy consumption can help support both sustainability and financial targets for retailers.

Deploying new technologies and equipment across your portfolio may seem overwhelming and costly, but it doesn’t have to be. Learn how you can implement savings at scale with minimal to no upfront costs.

Leveraging Energy as a Service to Fund Energy Savings

What is energy as a service? Energy as a Service (EaaS) is a funding model that enables businesses to make energy improvements by energy and maintenance savings to fund the work and limit the upfront costs associated with upgrading or deploying new technologies. This is done by leveraging a private financer that can fund your energy projects. The financer maintains ownership of the assets for the duration of the service agreement with a service partner helping maintain and manage the equipment for you.

This enables multi-site retailers to make energy improvements and upgrades at scale across their retail portfolio without limits on project size or adding assets or liabilities to their balance sheet, releasing cash for other core business activities.

Energy as a Service Can Help Maximize Energy Improvements Enabling Savings

You can’t track what you can’t see. As discussed in our previous post, Gaining Store Level Insights to Help Reduce Energy Use, retailers need a clear picture of their energy consumption to identify places for improvement. Your energy consumption and costs can and will vary from store to store because of location or operational equipment. As energy prices continue to rise – in 2022, U.S. electricity prices increased by 6.2%^[iI], gaining insights into energy use is critical as it can have a tremendous impact on retail profit margins.

Leveraging EaaS starts with a complete energy audit of your multi-site infrastructure and an energy supply analysis to better understand your portfolio’s energy use – from HVAC systems down to coffee machines. The audit also helps specify the different technologies needed, delivery model and necessary funding to enable portfolio owners to achieve guaranteed energy savings at scale.

Leveraging EaaS at Scale Can Help Support Corporate Goals

Many global organizations are establishing sustainability goals that focus on reducing energy consumption and improving their carbon footprints. It’s important to note, though, that you can’t start a sustainability journey without understanding your energy consumption. Portfolio-level energy improvements funded with an EaaS financial model can support corporate reporting requirements and help better manage store-level energy use and carbon impact.

Get the Help You Need to Optimize Your Energy and Savings at Scale

Honeywell can help you fund and rapidly deploy energy efficiency projects through its EaaS model. Our team of experts can help identify funding opportunities and incentives to implement projects at scale across your portfolio. We can help you manage energy use, improve asset health, and create greater operational efficiencies without sacrificing how shoppers experience your business. Learn more by connecting with one of our experts today.

^[i] McKinsey, “Turning down the cost of utilities in retail” Levi Hetrick, Steve Hoffman and Steven Swartz, Accessed Nov. 13, (June 2015)

^[ii] Utility Dive, “U.S. electricity sales to increase 2.5% this year, with average residential prices jumping 6.1%: EIA” Ethan Howland, Accessed Nov. 13, 2023, (August 2022)