Cultura, France’s leading cultural brand, has called on EFICIA, a GreenTech expert in energy management for tertiary buildings, to optimize and reduce the energy consumption of its entire real estate portfolio, comprising more than 105 stores, a warehouse and a head office.
For several years now, Cultura has been committed to reducing its CO2 emissions, in order to help combat global warming, which is a worldwide issue, and thus to organize the energy sobriety of its sites.
The company needed a partner to help it manage the energy consumption of its entire real estate portfolio. EFICIA was selected for its innovative turnkey offer, enabling the company to control and reduce the energy consumption of each building, as well as the associated carbon emissions, while taking into account the thermal comfort of its occupants, employees and customers. This unique approach convinced Cultura to carry out a several-month test on 4 of its buildings.
“We quickly saw the advantages of intelligent BMS programming and centralized management, with the possibility of adjusting to each building, while taking into account numerous factors such as the weather, occupants’ needs, indoor air quality, etc. This is an essential asset for optimizing the energy consumption of our buildings. This is an essential asset for optimizing the use of our energy resources and limiting our carbon footprint,” notes Michael Gerbaud, director of Cultura’s works, facilities, maintenance and energy department.
This test has turned into a collaboration for all the company’s existing and future buildings. Today, all Cultura’s buildings are managed by EFICIA. This collaboration is part of the energy transition to which Cultura has been committed since 2017, notably by switching all lighting in its network to LEDs.
Concrete results: 20% reduction in energy consumption
Last year, Cultura was able to estimate a reduction in energy consumption of around 20%, based on a constant model. This is largely the result of more precise, real-time management of energy consumption, better adapted to the company’s activity, with sites controlled independently or as a whole, as required.
“We’re seeing good results. What’s more, controlling our buildings has proved invaluable in the face of the constraints we’ve had to face over the last few months to comply with energy-saving recommendations, such as switching off illuminated signs or heating during the winter. EFICIA’s solution also enables us to detect malfunctions and rapidly take the necessary action to remedy them, thanks to the possibility of communicating with an energy specialist 24 hours a day,” adds Michael Gerbaud.
Beyond energy
“From this collaboration, it is essential to retain the dimension of expertise and advice that EFICIA demonstrates in supporting us on the energy question and beyond” continues Michael Gerbaud. “Not only does this enable us to guarantee our energy trajectory towards more virtuous consumption, but it also opens up perspectives for the management of other resources.”
Indeed, Cultura and EFICIA are currently working in partnership to integrate water and waste management into EFICIA’s tool, thus creating a dashboard that can further engage the company’s employees towards a more virtuous overall consumption.
