Homewares retailer Dunelm will install 2,642 solar panels across its UK portfolio this financial year, creating 930,700 kWh’s of electricity and boosting its renewable energy credentials.
The installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels has recently been completed at five stores, including 442 at the Bristol store, 410 at Derby, 356 at Romford and 398 at Swansea. 262 panels have also been installed on the roof at Dunelm’s Head Office in Syston, Leicester.
Dunelm has plans to install PV panels across another three sites before the end of June 2024 which, in total, will produce approximately 337,302 kWh’s of electricity as the business continues to decarbonise its operations.
Steve Barton, director of property at Dunelm, said: “We’re very proud to be stepping up the solar panel roll-out across our sites. It’s just one part of our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and in line with our ambition to reach net zero by 2040.”
Despite the expansion of its store portfolio, now at 183 stores following three recent openings, overall store electricity usage at Dunelm has remained flat, in line with 2019 usage, with 99.7% of energy from renewable sources in the last financial year.
The homewares retailer has previously transitioned to Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) qualifying electricity sources for the majority of sites and replaced gas-fired heating and refrigerants with lower-carbon alternatives. Dunelm is also working to increase the recycling of its waste.
Learn how Dunelm has grown to become the market leader in the lucrative UK homeware market, with 85% of its growth in the past five years coming from market share gains in an exclusive company profile. Featured in the RetailX European Homeware 2023 report, the profile looks at how Dunelm has mastered a hybrid online-offline approach.
The full report examines examines Europe’s online homeware consumers who are young, increasingly digital and driven as much by fashion as they are necessity and use online, mobile and social media as part of an increasingly complex path to purchase.
