Auchan and Auchan Korzó increase the energy efficiency of their properties with solar panels

This year's largest solar investment in the retail sector will be realized by Auchan Magyarország and Nhood Hungary - the company that manages the Auchan Korzó shopping centers - with the installation of solar panels worth 20 million euros on the roofs of buildings to increase the energy efficiency of the properties. This will give the owners the largest solar park in the retail sector.

As a result of the investment, which started in the second half of 2022, 14 stores already have solar power, while the other hypermarkets and the logistics center will be connected to the grid in the next six months. In total, the solar panels installed on Auchan buildings will be able to generate around 26 MWp per year. This is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of a city of 20 000 inhabitants.

Energy efficiency is a basic requirement of sustainability that every market player must treat as a priority. As a responsible company, Auchan Magyarország and Nhood Hungary, which manages the Auchan Korzós, consider it of strategic importance to contribute to a more livable future and to the achievement of the EU's climate goals by creating more sustainable commerce.

The EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 and to source at least 27% of energy from renewable sources. As buildings account for almost half of the energy consumed in Europe, both retail and real estate service companies have a key role to play in achieving these targets.
 
In this context, Auchan's sustainability target is to reduce (Scope 1 and Scope 2) CO2 emissions from store operations by 46% and from the life cycle of products and transport (Scope 3) by 25% by 2030.

And the long-term goal of Nhood, which manages the Auchan Korzó shopping centers, is to achieve net-zero emissions from its properties by 2040.

Viktória Lucenko, CEO of Auchan Magyarország Kft., said the following about the project:

"Auchan Magyarország, as a responsible company, is aware of the need for retailers to take action towards a more sustainable future. A significant step in this direction at Auchan is that one third of our electricity supply will now be provided by solar panels. One other thing I would like to highlight in this context is education, because that is part of our sustainability objectives. We are constantly working to make sure that our customers are aware of the changes and are comfortable with them. We also want to promote a collective change in attitude through our environmentally friendly investments and actions, as many people come to us every day and see what Auchan is doing in this area."

Pascal Steens, Managing Director of Nhood Services Hungary Kft., commented:
"Our goal is to install solar panels on all Auchan hypermarkets and Auchan Korzós as soon as possible. Nhood Hungary considers it an important obligation and is proud to be responsible for the technical supervision of the installation of the solar park in order to meet the European climate targets and its own sustainability objectives. After commissioning, the solar system installed on twenty roofs will be able to produce a total of about 26 GWH per year, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of a city of 20,000 inhabitants.”