THE BEER STORE IN THE NEWS

The Beer Store closing green gap, one kilowatt at a time

Canadian Retailer (November/December 2009)

The Beer Store recently received a 2009 Customer for Conservation acknowledgement from Toronto Hydro for its commitment to actively and devotedly continue to ramp up efforts toward creating a culture of conservation in Toronto.

The Beer Store continues to steadily close the gap between wanting to do more in terms of energy conservation and actually succeeding in its attempt. And it has recently proven this once again through its involvement in the Toronto Hydro-Electric System Power Savings Blitz program. As a component of its participation, the company retrofitted 42 locations across the City of Toronto. The results of this initiative represent a savings of approximately 184,000 kilowatt hours per year, averting approximately 38,600 tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions from the environment, comparable to the removal of eight cars from the road.

“The Beer Store is very pleased to be recognized by Toronto Hydro for its energy reduction efforts,” said Ted Moroz, President of the Beer Store.

Though, as proactive as The Beer Store has been of late in efforts to reduce its consumption of energy within its retail locations across the province, the company's been enjoying tremendous success in the area of extended producer responsibility for a very long time through its reusing and recycling initiatives.

The Beer Store takes back all of the packaging materials that it sells, including bottles, cans, caps, cardboard cartons, can rings, kegs and plastic bags. The company's commitment to this effort has significantly limited its contribution of materials to landfills and has dramatically reduced pollution and greenhouse gas emissions for residents of the province.

“Without taking our eye off our highly successful and widely recognized deposit return system, we have broadened our focus to include the pursuit of energy reduction in recent years. The award is a much appreciated recognition of our efforts in this important area,” added Moroz.

Toronto Hydro Corporation President and CEO, David O'Brien, commended The Beer Store for its engagement and responsibility, stating that, “From hundreds of small convenience stores to a world-class organization like The Beer Store, the success and uptake of our Power Savings Blitz is a clear example of how saving electricity and money is easy to do. I applaud The Beer Store and am sure that they will continue to lead by example.”

Read more about The Beer Store and Environmental Leadership.