Completed petition Shut the Door on Wasted Energy
We call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to encourage all supermarkets and retailers to have doors on all their fridges and freezers, and so reduce our national carbon footprint, electricity consumption and pave a way for a greener Wales.
Irish retailer, Supervalu estimates that a typical 2.5 metre mineral fridge with doors will typically save 10,000kWh per year compared to fridges without doors [1].
This is the equivalent of 7 tonnes of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas and would be enough to power at least two homes of electricity for one year! The power saved from one fridge with doors is enough to power two homes! [2]
The Environment (Wales) Act of March 2016 [3] (Part 2: Climate change) gave Welsh Ministers the "powers to put in place statutory emission reduction targets, including at least an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 and carbon budgeting to support their delivery. This is vital within the context of our existing UK and EU obligations and sets a clear pathway for decarbonisation. It also provides certainty and clarity for business and investment."
This is a great opportunity for the Welsh Government to work towards this goal and contribute to the 80% reduction to emissions by 2050. This act could have huge consequences nationally and globally! Let Wales be a leading nation on the international stage with a "healthy and resilient environment" [3] by shutting the door to wasted energy for this and the next generation!
More details
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in a chilling report [4] states that if retailers put doors on fridges, they would cut their energy use by a massive 33% and 1% of the UK energy bill would be cut if the top 5 supermarkets put doors on fridges.
A coalition of European NGOs have pointed to a report requested by the European Commission, which states that up to 58TWh of power by 2030 would be saved throughout Europe if supermarkets and retailers put doors on their fridges and freezers – this is the equivalent of 25 medium size coal power plants. They further commented, "the step to install doors on supermarket fridges and freezers is a no-brainer. Retailers will benefit from lower energy bills, a more climate conscious image, and ultimately, happier consumers. It's a win-win for everyone, especially for the environment. Because of climate change, we simply can't afford to be so careless with energy any longer." [5]
[1] Customer Care Team, SuperValu. Personal Communication. Thursday 7th Sep 2017. Irish retailer SuperValu quotes these figures directly from their fridge manufacturer.
[2] Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. Typical Domestic Consumption Values. Available from: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/gas/retail-market/monitoring-data-and-statistics/typical-domestic-consumption-values [Accessed Friday 11th January 2019]
[3] Welsh Government. Environment (Wales) Act 2016. Available from: http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/consmanagement/natural-resources-management/environment-act/?skip=1&lang=en [Accessed Friday 11th January 2019]
[4] Environmental Investigation Agency, Chilling Facts VI: Closing the door on HFCs. 2014; p14. Available from: https://eia-international.org/report/the-chilling-facts-vi-closing-the-door-on-hfcs/ [Accessed: Friday 11th January 2019].
[5] Coolproducts, Why don't supermarket fridges have doors? Available from: https://www.coolproducts.eu/news/why-dont-supermarket-fridges-have-doors [Accessed Saturday 12th January 2019]
This petition was considered by the Petitions Committee
Find out about the Petitions Committee’s discussion of this petition