In advancing its environmental initiatives, Target Corp. announced that the company has developed its most sustainable store to date in Vista, CA, one that will generate more renewable energy than it needs to operate annually.
The retrofitted Vista store will test multiple innovations designed to reduce the building’s emissions. Operation of retrofitted elements and new features will give Target insights that will guide the company’s investments in new stores and remodel programs supporting its sustainability efforts going forward.
The store will generate renewable energy via 3,420 solar panels across its roof and newly installed carport canopies, the company noted. Altogether, Target expects the facility to produce up to a 10% energy surplus each year that it can transmit back to the local power grid. The company has applied for net-zero energy certification from the International Living Future Institute.
The Vista location also will power its HVAC heating through rooftop solar panels instead of natural gas and switch to carbon dioxide refrigeration, a natural refrigerant that Target will scale chain-wide by 2040 to reduce its direct operation emissions by 20%, the company stated.
“We’ve been working for years at Target to shift toward sourcing more renewable energy and further reducing our carbon footprint, and our Vista store’s retrofit is the next step in our sustainability journey and a glimpse of the future we’re working toward,” said John Conlin, senior vp of properties, Target, in announcing the retrofit. “Our new stores and remodel programs are designed to help achieve our sustainability goals as we test, learn and scale our innovations over time across our operations.”
