Australian government gives Aldi’s renewable promise tick of approval

Three years ago, Aldi made a major promise to its customers. Now it’s finally getting recognised for its achievements.

Discount supermarket giant Aldi is officially Australia’s first grocery retailer to go fully renewable, after receiving the stamp of approval from the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Regulator.

In 2020, Aldi announced it would transition its stores, warehouses and offices to 100 per cent clean energy by the end of 2021 using offsite wind farms and onsite solar panels to power their sites.

The same year, the supermarket hoped to install 102,000 solar panels across its 250 Australian stores after successfully reducing its overall operational emissions by 40 per cent since 2012.

Aldi is the first supermarket to go 100 per cent renewable. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Three years on, Aldi’s “massive” efforts have been independently verified by the Clean Energy Regulator’s 2023 Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency (CERT) Report.

Daniel Baker, Sustainability Director at Aldi Australia, says the report will help Aldi’s shoppers understand how the supermarket is using renewable energy across its operations.

“Sustainability is placed firmly at the core of Aldi’s values and operations, that is why we have an ongoing commitment to making a good difference for our planet,” he said.

“We are proud the report has recognised these efforts as ALDI continues to lead the way as one of only a handful of companies featured in the report to have fully transitioned its operations to 100 per cent renewable electricity sources.”

Aldi has 105,000 solar panels fitted across its 270 stores. Picture: Supplied

The “good, different” store is two years ahead of its competitors, with Woolworths aiming to run on 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025 across Australia and New Zealand.

Coles also signed a major clean energy agreement in 2021 hoping to go 100 per cent renewable by the 2025 financial year, while delivering net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Despite earning the fully renewable title, Aldi’s efforts to help the environment isn’t ending there with the supermarket taking their success global.

The Aldi South Group – which includes Aldi Australia – is working towards reducing its emissions worldwide, after reducing its overall emissions by 56 per cent since 2016.

Back home, Aldi is also taking additional steps to further cut down on its energy usage by installing wall chillers in selected stores that will feature fridge doors to keep products chilled efficiently.

Five stores in NSW trialled the new fridges, with more to be rolled out in an additional 15 stores across Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.

It’s hoped these fridges will contribute to a 30 per cent reduction in energy use, with refrigerators accounting for 20 per cent of the supermarket’s total electricity usage.

Aldi is now installing fridges with doors in some of its stores to conserve energy. Picture: Supplied

In addition to this, more solar panels will be installed across 25 extra freestanding stores over the next year-and-a-half.

The installation will add to Aldi’s 105,000 panels fitted across its 270 stores and six distribution centres.

“The steps we’re taking in utilising renewable electricity epitomises ALDI’s ongoing commitment to Making a Good Difference,” Mr Baker said.

“Not only are we reducing our impact on the planet, we’re also bringing down our operational costs so we can continue passing these savings onto our customers.”