UK Chain Saves £50m A Year In Energy Bills, But Other Stores Fear For Sales

Supermarkets are replacing the open refrigerators in their stores, which chill milk, meat and shoppers alike and which waste huge amounts of energy.

The Co-operative, which already has 100 stores with doors on its fridges, is saving £50m a year in energy bills and cutting its environmental impact.

If all the UK's supermarkets put doors on their fridges, the electricity saved would be roughly double the output of the giant Drax coal-fired power station in Yorkshire, Europe's second largest. But few are following the Co-op's lead, worried about sales if groceries are shut away.

Dave Roberts, the Co-op's director of property, said: "That was a big concern for us. But we found that because we put LED lights around the doors, customers said it brought the product to life. In no places where we have put doors on fridges have sales gone down."

To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Guardian