Kingfisher invests £50m in renewable energy

Kingfisher, the international home improvement company, has unveiled plans to invest £50 million in renewable energy as part of a plan to reduce its energy consumption from the national grid by 10% in the next two years.

The investment will be spent on a range of renewable technologies. The roll-out of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels will commence immediately in the UK and France on distribution centres and selected stores, and is expected to be rolled-out to the majority of the 10 countries in which Kingfisher operates. Other future renewable energy sources will include air source heat pumps, combined heat and power boilers and new fuel cell generation.    

The investment decision was made following the completion of a PV installation at the Screwfix head office and contact centre in Yeovil this summer, which has been performing well. More than a third of the contact centre’s power is now generated by its solar panel installation. 

Kingfisher led the Net Positive movement in 2012 when it launched its ambition to do more than minimise its negative impact, redesigning its business to have a positive impact on the world. The organisation has an aspiration for every Kingfisher store and customer’s home to be zero carbon or generate more energy than it consumes by 2050 and has already reduced its property portfolio’s energy intensity by 17% - delivering its 2016 milestone ahead of schedule.

Richard Gillies, Sustainability Director for Kingfisher said: “We hope our renewables investment helps demonstrate to the world’s leaders discussing the climate deal this week that leading businesses want a sustainable future, and to see the right deal in Paris. 

“This renewables investment is part of our Net Positive journey to transform our business to be a force for good. There’s plenty more we can do but business needs stability and certainty to make these types of long-term investment decisions. That’s why we need leadership in Paris – it’s the key to enabling the consistent national policies and incentives business needs to invest.” 

Source: Kingfisher plc.

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