Swift, a JBS business that is a benchmark in frozen foods, reaches the milestone of 100 stores with photovoltaic solar panels installed on the roofs of its units. The result is part of the company’s strategy so that, by 2025, 100% of the electricity consumption of its street establishments will be supplied by renewable and clean energy sources. The innovative initiative in Brazilian retail is developed in partnership with Âmbar Energia, the energy solutions company of J&F Investimentos.
“Reaching this important milestone of 100 stores with solar roofs strengthens Swift’s sustainability agenda, and reduces the carbon footprint of our operations. In line with our commitment to preserving the environment, Swift has been advancing in the use of clean and renewable energy in its own stores and mobile units (vans) since 2019”, highlights Swift’s Chief Financial Officer and responsible for Swift’s Sustainability programs, Raphael Jacob.
In all, 4,801 solar panels have already been installed on the roofs of Swift stores, occupying an area of 20,000 square meters. Together, the photovoltaic systems add up to an installed capacity of 2.3 Megawatt-peak (MWp), enough to supply electricity to 250 families. In 2022, solar rooftops produced 1.019 million kWh, avoiding the emission of 643.251 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is equivalent to planting 922 trees per year.
By prioritizing the solar solution in its operations, Swift reduces so-called “scope 2” carbon emissions, related to electricity consumption, and reinforces its alignment with JBS’s commitment to become Net Zero by 2040, which aims to achieve zero net balance of all the Company’s greenhouse gas emissions. “The installation of Swift’s solar rooftops adds to a series of initiatives we are developing to bring more sustainability and efficiency to our operations, in line with our commitment to be Net Zero,” said Maurício Bauer, Director of Sustainability at JBS in Brazil.
Currently, Swift has establishments for the sale of its products in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Goiás and the Federal District. The set is made up of physical stores, furniture (vans) and store-in-store points of sale located within partner retailers.
Bigger plan
In addition to the 100 establishments with their own generation through solar panels on the roofs, Swift’s stores are also supplied by solar farms. Currently, 45 units of the brand receive energy from photovoltaic plants (UFV), such as the Âmbar Porto Feliz UFV and the Âmbar Saltinho UFV, in the interior of São Paulo, and the UFV installed in the distribution center of Flora, J&F’s hygiene and cosmetics company, Âmbar Energia’s enterprises. To date, Âmbar has invested R$ 50 million in Swift’s solar energy projects out of a total of R$ 105 million.
Since 2021, Âmbar has been diversifying its operations and expanding investments in photovoltaic energy. “With the demand from major partners such as JBS and Brazil’s photovoltaic power generation potential, we decided that this source would be a priority in our expansion plan,” said the company’s president, Marcelo Zanatta. The development and management of energy solutions, such as the project with Swift, is one of the company’s main growth fronts. Amber also operates natural gas-fired power generation plants, among other businesses.
The rooftops and solar farms that supply Swift’s stores add up to 5.7 MWp of installed capacity, enough to supply 11% of the energy consumed by the establishments. Currently, the emission avoided by these projects is 2,531 thousand tons of CO2 per year, a volume that is equivalent to planting 3,772 thousand trees per year.
Swift’s 40 mobile stores, which are vans to serve residential condominiums, are also equipped with solar panels to power the electrical part of the vehicles, as well as refrigerators and other components. In addition to the use of renewable energy, Swift’s establishments bring together a series of initiatives to make their operations more sustainable. To reduce electricity consumption, each unit has low-energy coolers with up to 44% lower CO2 emissions than traditional models.
The parking lot of the stores uses the so-called “Green Floor”, a concrete block developed by JBS Ambiental that contains in its formulation plastic from the packaging of fresh products that could not be recycled. The company is a partner of eureciclo for environmental compensation of 100% of its packaging, preventing about 2 thousand tons of plastic, glass, metal and paper per year from being sent to landfills. In addition, the Good for You product line uses green plastic (from sugarcane) as a raw material for its packaging.
