Action commissions 12,700 solar panels at iHQ
On Friday 23 September, Action CEO Hajir Hajji commissioned a solar roof of almost 13,000 panels at the distribution centre in Zwaagdijk-Oost alongside Edward Stigter, Deputy Minister for the Environment and Climate in the province of Noord-Holland. After the official opening, local and regional businesses attended a meeting on sustainability.
The sustainability of business parks is a hot topic at the moment, with collaboration and knowledge sharing seen as being crucial. In this light, the opening of the solar roof also represented an opportunity to hold a meeting on sustainability for businesses located in the WFO business park in Zwaagdijk. Around 50 businesspeople from the surrounding companies attended the afternoon session, during which Action and the Duurzaam Ondernemersloket inspired businesspeople and offered tips for their plans regarding the energy transition. Action shared several experiences and insights with fellow businesspeople from the business park throughout the session.
Hajir Hajji, CEO of Action: “Companies in the WFO business park can join forces to focus on generating or storing power. I see Action taking a leading role here, as not every company has a roof large enough like we do or the same strength and resources to make such sustainable changes. The question then is, how can we make sure that smaller companies are able to benefit from the sustainability choices made by larger companies? And the answer is to work together, of course. Action is enthusiastic about robust solutions that can accelerate our transition – as well as those of other companies – towards being sustainable, so we’re keen to discuss this with other businesses.”
Making distribution centres more sustainable
Non-food retailer Action is investing to make all current and future distribution centres in Europe more sustainable. New distribution centres therefore meet the BREAAM Excellent sustainability standard as a matter of course. Action’s first distribution centre in Zwaagdijk-Oost, covering an area of 104,000m², has undergone several changes in recent years in the area of efficient heating and LED lighting. Green electricity has been used for some time, and this will now largely be supplied by the solar panels. The next step is to look at how the energy generated can be stored locally.
According to CEO Hajir Hajji, the sustainability of distribution centres is a key part of the retailer’s overall sustainability strategy, which also focuses on further reducing CO2 emissions, achieving energy savings and circularity.