The Municipality of Padova and SINLOC hosted a meeting with representatives from several local supermarkets based in Padua (Italy) to present the main objectives and benefits of the SUPER-HEERO project, an initiative to boost energy efficiency investment in small and medium supermarkets.
Six supermarkets took part in the meeting: Alì, Aspiag Service, CONAD, COOP, Ecor NaturaSì, and Lidl Italia. They highlighted the main challenges they are facing in the energy refurbishment sector and the main constraints they would like to overcome. Nearly all of them underlined the importance of the communication and awareness raising activities towards customers and the definition of policy recommendations for decision makers. Another crucial aspect addressed by the supermarkets was the identification of innovative technologies to further increase the energy efficiency of their stores and the correct way to finance this improvement.
From its part, the Municipality of Padova and SINLOC presented the advantages that participating in SUPER-HEERO offers for supermarkets, such as the free provision of smart meters to assess and control energy consumption, a professional study and analysis of the supermarkets’ current situation in order to find viable solutions to increase energy efficiency and reduce consumption, and support with the planning of business models and revenue streams for both customers and supermarkets.
The next steps to be taken consist in the definition of an Italian working group of supermarkets and in the set-up of operational proposals which should be tailored to the specific needs and objectives of the different players.
