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NEWS ALDI PLANS ALL-RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY MOVE ALDI Australia is committing to 100 per cent renewable electricity to power its Australian operations by the end of 2021 after claiming to have achieved a 40 per cent reduction of overall operational emissions intensity from a 2012 baseline. The company says the commitment will be possible at the completion of a vast solar installation program and the recent procurement of two 10-year power purchasing agreements with large scale wind farms. The wind farms, in the NSW Southern Tablelands and Western Victoria, will provide renewable energy to all of ALDI’s NSW and Victorian stores. These will generate more than 180,000 MWh of electricity, says ALDI, and result in more than 160,000 tonnes of carbon emissions avoided each year. ALDI will use the rooftops of its real estate portfolio to harness more than 15 per cent of its total energy use from the sun. By the end of 2020, it says, more than 250 ALDI Australia stores and six distribution centres are expected to have solar installations, totalling 102,000 panels of onsite solar energy generation, preventing 41,000 tonnes of carbon emissions entering the atmosphere every year. ALDI claims this will be Australia’s largest commercial and industrial solar rollout to date. The commitment to renewable energy has driven ALDI’s investment in more efficient systems to reduce both energy usage and carbon emissions. This includes reducing energy consumption by LED lighting and energy efficient chillers, upgrading to natural refrigerants, and installing solar power systems, currently on 175 stores and six DCs. ALDI Australia CEO Tom Daunt says the business is proud to have built a reputation for providing customers with high quality products and an affordable shopping experience. “As we continue our journey in Australia,” he said, “we want to reassure our shoppers that how we conduct business is equally important as the value we offer.” MIRVAC RETAIL HOME DELIVERS ESSENTIALS In what is said to be an Australian first, Mirvac Retail has aggregated local, independent retailers from its physical shopping centres onto an online marketplace, Essentials Express Home Delivery, allowing customers to order essentials from multiple centre retailers via one transaction and receive same- day delivery direct to their door. Mirvac says the multi-retailer, contactless home-delivery service, launching at Moonee Ponds Central in Melbourne and Orion Springfield Central in Ipswich, Queensland, is aimed at ensuring the safety of customers and retailers while giving a boost to local retailers, supporting local jobs and the local community through the Covid-19 recovery. The new service is an evolution of Essentials Express, a pilot program that began in April, enabling customers to click-and-collect products from independent retailers at the shopping centres. Mirvac General Manager Retail Kelly Miller says the company has been working towards an e-commerce platform for two years. “By accelerating these plans we’re in a fortunate position to support our retailers, many of whom are small businesses employing the local community, while also delivering essentials to our customers, safely,” she said. “The Essentials Express platform is essentially a start-up program for us to test the viability of a new hybrid retail model which we hope to eventually roll out across Australia via click and collect and home delivery.” Mirvac has partnered with Omnyfy, a global marketplace platform technology provider, and Sherpa, an Australian on-demand delivery app, to extend the in-store service at Mirvac’s centres to customers’ homes via contactless home delivery to local areas. John De Maria of De Maria’s greengrocer at Moonee Ponds Central says the Essentials Express platform has been a boost for his business. “It’s helped us to continue to serve our loyal customers despite the strict lockdowns due to Covid-19, and keep our valued staff employed,” he said. “We’re so grateful to work with Moonee Ponds Central to develop this solution to the demand of the current environment and help us start trading online.” Customers can visit the Moonee Ponds Central or Orion Springfield Central websites at anytime from anywhere to order products for home delivery. Customers who order by 12pm receive their products between 3pm and 6pm the same day. 10 RETAIL WORLD SEP, 2020