Majid Al Futtaim is furthering plans to make its Carrefour stores more digitized and energy efficient with the support of technology from Schneider Electric. By the end of 2021, over one hundred Carrefour’s stores in the UAE will use Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Retail Advisor software and internet-connected hardware to benchmark energy consumption and optimize usage throughout the United Arab Emirates as a pilot with plans to expand the technology to cover more of Carrefour’s stores across the Middle East and North Africa in line with Majid Al Futtaim’s ambition of becoming Net Positive by 2040.

As the largest retailer in the UAE, Carrefour has prioritized several sustainability initiatives, including installing building management systems at every facility to automate lighting, air conditioning and exhaust fans as well as regular energy audit checks. Bernardo Perlorio, Chief Operations Officer of Carrefour at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, said: “Partnering with Schneider Electric brings us one step closer towards Majid Al Futtaim’s ambition of becoming Net Positive by 2040, allowing us to put more back into society, the environment and the economy than we take out.”

Schneider Electric’s Retail Advisor will provide Carrefour’s management a single view on energy consumption per Business Unit for each facility during its first phase of deployment. A second phase roll-out will provide Carrefour’s facilities management team with insights on how to optimise and reduce energy consumption. Performance benchmarks will provide Carrefour’s operations team with analysis on how each site is performing, helping to reduce carbon emissions across the retailer’s operations. The technology will also ensure that the there are no unplanned power losses for any electrical equipment and help facilities comply with international energy management and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

“Carrefour has long been a pioneer in the sustainability space, and this technology will help the retailer monitor and optimise their overall consumption by giving them insights into energy usage,” said WasimTaqqali, Services Vice President at Schneider Electric Middle East and Africa. “Carrefour isn’t only making its store operations more environmentally sustainable, but it’s also improving electrical equipment reliability and ensuring the facility is running as needed to meet customer needs.”

The full solution includes EcoStruxure Retail Advisor software, power meters, automation servers, and room controllers according to architectures designed in partnership with Carrefour to meet its specific store needs. Each site will have a dedicated health assessment during installation, and Carrefour’s operations team will be able to access the tool through a web portal and mobile applications. The system doesn’t just integrate information from electrical equipment but will also pull in data from cold room systems, cooking equipment and other devices once future phases are completed. The technology was implemented by Schneider Electric partner Three Phase Technical Services.