Sephora – Sargam Saraf – 2017

Goals 

Sephora, one of the largest retailers for beauty products, set a sustainability goal of 25% reduction in energy use by 2020 per 2013 baseline. Having high volumes of sales through brick and mortar stores, Sephora identified energy efficiency & renewable energy as top priorities. Sephora enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Sargam Saraf to perform a gap analysis of existing utility data to create a more complete dataset of Sephora’s utility consumption and identify best energy management practices. She was also tasked with quantifying energy and carbon impacts at a granular level for the three data centers relating to its digital and ecommerce business. 

Solutions

To analyze energy use, Saraf reviewed previous utility bills, energy reports and data from the Energy Management System as well as interviewed internal stakeholders to understand behavioral trends. She conducted additional research on plug load consumption and data center efficiency, which resulted in a more accurate representation of energy use in retail stores throughout the United States and Canada. Through this research, she recommended several solutions to overcome existing challenges from simple technological upgrades to behavioral changes in energy use, including continued energy monitoring and reporting, upgrading the energy management system to collect plug load specific data, creating a script of best practices in retail stores, and implementing internal and external sustainability programs. 

Potential Impact

Saraf’s recommendations for the future would enhance existing environmental efforts, reduce its energy and carbon impact as well as help Sephora reach its 2020 sustainability goal.