South Australia will become the first state with all Woolworths and Big W stores fully powered by renewable energy.
The move is part of a bigger plan to make the supermarket giant more sustainable and comes just one month after it announced a change to fruit and vegetable bags across the state with all bags being switched to compostable which will remove 70 tonnes of plastic from landfill annually.
Almost 70 Woolworths supermarkets, 17 Big W stores and its Adelaide Regional Distribution Centre will go completely green from July which is equivalent to every home in Brighton and Glenelg switching to a renewable source!
The Woolworths group have teamed up with Iberdola Australia to source the energy from the wind turbines and solar network it recently developed at the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park. The park is home to 50 turbines and 250,000 solar panels.
Premier Peter Malinauskas applauded the move saying “South Australia has long been a world leader in renewable energy, paving the way for more businesses to switch to clean energy.”
Following this milestone in South Australia in July, Woolworths Group will continue to gradually replace traditional energy contracts in other states with hopes to transition to renew to renewable energy nationwide by 2025.
SA has been at the forefront of a vast number of supermarket sustainability advancements including the state ban on single-use plastic bags and the partnering with paper bag manufacturer, Detpak, to support the onshoring of paper bag production.
As Australia’s largest retailer, the Woolworths Group represent roughly 1% of the total energy used across the country which reflects the large impact this move will make.
For more information, visit the Woolworths Group website.
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