2023 Sustainability Initiative: HMC Capital
The LFRA was proud to present this year’s Sustainability Application Award to HMC Capital for their sophisticated energy roadmap in pursuit of a net zero target.
HMC Capital are committed to creating healthy communities and believe they can achieve this through emissions reductions, driving genuine positive impact for people and the environment.
With this vision, HMC Capital developed the energy roadmap which detailed plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2028 across their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
They have ambitious environmental targets which surpass Australia’s transition plan to a low carbon economy which demonstrates their commitment to a greener future and future proofing of the business.
The integration of solar across all feasible sites was a key element of their Energy Roadmap, and the proactive approach recognises the importance of demand-side decarbonisation, understanding that renewables alone aren’t the complete solution.
To counter this, the energy roadmap consists of a 3-phase approach to achieving HMC Capital’s net zero goal.
The first phase involves right sizing consumption on assets. HMC Capital looks to achieve this through a sophisticated energy management control, which they describe as a state-of-the-art Energy Management System (or EMS).
The EMS harnesses cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to create an intelligent, responsive energy system capable of adapting in real-time to both internal and external environmental changes.
It automatically adjusts energy consumption across HMC Capital sites to maximise efficiency and collects data from various sources, including network demand response signals, using advanced algorithms to take automatic actions that optimise site operations in real time based on actual demand and environmental conditions.
HMC Capital’s Sustainability Manager, Holly Bradley, describes “the system as a real-time solution to artificial energy consumption by taking information from internal and external factors to adjust certain areas of energy consumption.
“This ranges from air conditioning, lighting, and refrigeration to match those internal and external changes to right-size and reduce energy consumption as much as possible.”
By reducing energy consumption, the system reduces carbon emissions as well as operational costs.
This is achieved by demand management response and control automations shifting to reduce electricity usage during peak times to capitalise on time-based rates, whilst reducing network demand costs without compromising indoor comfort for customers.
The solar monitoring and performance analysis alerts the system against faults or unusually low production to ensure that the solar performs well and creates maximum benefit and return on investment.
The implementation of these monitoring systems has also in turn reduced the need for physical maintenance inspections, leading to reduced scope 3 emissions and extended asset life.
The data-driven remote maintenance intervals and reporting ensure efficient and effective maintenance practices, whilst also preventing fugitive emissions and allowing for pro-active fault detection as well as validating repairs from technicians.
The EMS has proven its effectiveness in optimising building energy performance and has ultimately exceeded HMC Capital’s initial targets during and beyond the initial pilot phase. It has also resulted in over $1 million annualised energy costs savings, further proving the systems worth and effectiveness.
The EMS impact can also be seen across the HMC Capital active sites which has resulted in an average energy consumption reduction of 23% and an expected reduction of carbon emissions of over 2,400 tCO2e per year.
This system has translated to a meaningful reduction in their environmental impact across their sites and is an exemplary demonstration of sustainability initiatives in the Large Format Retail sector.
