CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
OFFICEWORKS SOLAR WORKS It’s a little over a year since Officeworks MD Sarah Hunter launched the People and Planet Positive 2025 commitments, but as you would expect from an entity that helps people organise their business and home office environments, it’s already producing dividends.
BACK IN 2015 leading retailer Officeworks foresaw the need to establish a longterm sustainability strategy that took into account its carbon footprint and other environmental impacts. Six years on and the bottom line is already evident, with an impressive 32 per cent reduction in emissions. It’s a standing start for a mission which has since been boosted by a series of ambitious commitments to achieve yet more cuts on the road to ever greater sustainability. Those commitments are outlined in the People and Planet Positive Plan launched just over a year ago and which has enabled Officeworks to cut emissions a further 7.2 per cent. Underpinning the plan is Officeworks’ aspirations to use 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025 and beyond that, Net
Zero emissions by 2030 through a more circular economy and meaningful climate action in which solar energy is playing a key role. Ryan Swenson, General Manager Corporate Affairs, says “Our approach to achieving our goal of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 includes installation of onsite solar systems and batteries where feasible, with 90 of the 167 stores, the majority of which are stand alone, earmarked for rooftop PV. “Our broader plan takes in continued investment in energy efficiency initiatives, and reviewing purchase options for renewable energy in front of the meter. “As a last resort, or to support our transition in the short term, we are also looking at the role of LGCs (large-scale generation certificates). These initiatives are happening concurrently, and we are currently exploring opportunities for large scale PPAs (power purchase agreements).”
Shining the light on rooftop PV The selection of the initial 10 pilot sites for PV was informed by various factors, he said, “including where we can abate the most carbon through the installation of solar panels, the lease tenure remaining of our sites, and obviously financial considerations. “Decisions were also based on expected system performance, and we agreed on at least one site per state. Property strategies relating to the future of the store location were additional factors.” The management team is more than confident they have established a blueprint for success, with each of the 10 installed 100kW solar PV systems built using “high quality technology products” outperforming modelled expectations on generation. “The PV systems are providing about a third to half of site energy consumption and in the process reducing energy bills by up to 15 per cent,” Swenson explained. Officeworks anticipates the capital outlay to break even within four years, and is gleaning data from the experience. “The objectives of the first phase were really about understanding processes and financing models (for example site-based PPAs) to inform our second phase solar PV rollout in which we are targeting 50 stores to be completed over the next 18 months, and will then review the third phase. “Any new stores that we open now include solar panels. This is also the case 40 SUMMER 2021
