Walgreen Co. – Sushit Shetty – 2018

Goals

Walgreen Co, one of the largest drug store chains in the US, enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Sushit Shetty to develop a renewable energy (RE) framework that would help expand the current portfolio and reduce the company’s Scope 2 emissions as well as the cost of electricity. He was also charged with assessing internal risks and recommending mitigation solutions to overcome obstacles to the expansion.

Solutions

Shetty interviewed key internal stakeholders within the organization in order to understand their risk perception of a renewable energy RE project. He suggested mitigation steps and developed a detailed RE strategy which would help the company increase its green energy consumption.

Since 2007, Walgreens has installed solar panels on 240 stores and distribution centers. The energy generated from these systems reduced grid consumption by 17,000 MWh fiscal 2017. Shetty highlighted the positive impact of potentially combining the existing energy efficiency initiative and an expanded RE portfolio, which would reduce the Scope 2 emissions of the company significantly. He also brought an RE advisor onboard who assisted with feasibility studies that assessed possible solutions for the company.

Potential Impact

If implemented, Shetty’s strategy would act as a playbook to the creation of a renewable energy portfolio. Based on his recommendation Walgreens can compare renewable energy opportunities against other initiatives to increase green power consumption, reduce carbon emissions and increase annual cost savings as part of the overall energy management strategy.