Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SUPER-HEERO (SUPERmarket Human based innovative financing schemes for Energy Efficiency Retrofitting and Optimisation)
Reporting period: 2021-12-01 to 2023-05-31
We’ve done it! Super Heero has launched Europe’s first crowdlending platform dedicated to the realization of energy efficiency projects in supermarkets based on stakeholder and community engagement (www.super-heero.com). With Super Heero, shoppers, store staff and citizens at large can participate in making the stores they shop at and the brands they are loyal to more sustainable by investing in EE projects via a crowdlending platform. Triple win. Brands and stores engage their clientele, unlock financing and gain access to cutting-edge technologies and turnkey assistance. Crowdvestors earn an interest rate, receive store-specific rewards such as points or coupons, learn about EE and directly participate in the energy transition. Municipalities gain sustainable actions on the territory, an increased sense of community and positive contributions to social impacts.
Stepping back to what motivated the project, Super-Heero has been funded within Horizon 2020 under the LIFE program under call topic LC-SC3-E-9-2018-2019 “Innovative financing for energy efficiency investments” which has been managed by CINEA. Over its three-year duration (2020-2023), a 10-partner consortium developed and validated an innovative financing model for energy efficiency interventions based on customer engagement and targeting supermarkets in both Italy and Spain. Supermarkets were a deliberate targeted market segment because their energy expenses are high, they have customer loyalty programs, they are nodes of the social fabric in communities, interventions can be scalable at brand level and there is the opportunity to facilitate interactions toward sustainability between brands and franchise owners.
Using the Super Heero approach, common barriers to the realization of energy efficiency interventions are reduced. Most commonly these include lack of time, knowledge or financing to get the job. With Super Heero, a five step process that is customizable to any ownership structure (brand, franchise or co-owned), supermarket typology (urban boutique, periphery box, or outer ring supercenter) and store state of efficiency (new, semi-modern, old) gets the job done. Any location that isn’t using modern technologies be it LED, PV, voltage control, state of the art refrigeration systems or other simple measures, there is no reason not to take action and start saving energy, costs and carbon.
The secret of Super-Heero is quite simple. Every energy efficiency project has a return of investment. If part of that benefit can be shared with store clientele, staff and citizens at large, a new value proposition is unlocked on top of the energy savings. That value proposition includes brand loyalty, educating people about energy efficiency, and communicate store and brand values in a new way. In doing so, Super-Heero transforms energy efficiency projects into an experience. The marketing and advertising, in-store promotion, bonuses and rewards and inauguration ceremonies are fun, directly touch people and provide stores and brands with a direct tool to show they are part of the energy transition solution.
Super-Heero also thinks bigger. It isn’t only supermarkets that can benefit from the approach and methodology. The project has identified a set of other sectors where Super Heero will point next. These include, retailers, shopping centers, restaurants, hotels, sport associations, schools and other buildings where communities are present. There is a lot of work to do, a lot of value to unlock and a lot of sustainability interventions to accelerate, motivate and realize using Super Heero.
Stepping back to what motivated the project, Super-Heero has been funded within Horizon 2020 under the LIFE program under call topic LC-SC3-E-9-2018-2019 “Innovative financing for energy efficiency investments” which has been managed by CINEA. Over its three-year duration (2020-2023), a 10-partner consortium developed and validated an innovative financing model for energy efficiency interventions based on customer engagement and targeting supermarkets in both Italy and Spain. Supermarkets were a deliberate targeted market segment because their energy expenses are high, they have customer loyalty programs, they are nodes of the social fabric in communities, interventions can be scalable at brand level and there is the opportunity to facilitate interactions toward sustainability between brands and franchise owners.
Using the Super Heero approach, common barriers to the realization of energy efficiency interventions are reduced. Most commonly these include lack of time, knowledge or financing to get the job. With Super Heero, a five step process that is customizable to any ownership structure (brand, franchise or co-owned), supermarket typology (urban boutique, periphery box, or outer ring supercenter) and store state of efficiency (new, semi-modern, old) gets the job done. Any location that isn’t using modern technologies be it LED, PV, voltage control, state of the art refrigeration systems or other simple measures, there is no reason not to take action and start saving energy, costs and carbon.
The secret of Super-Heero is quite simple. Every energy efficiency project has a return of investment. If part of that benefit can be shared with store clientele, staff and citizens at large, a new value proposition is unlocked on top of the energy savings. That value proposition includes brand loyalty, educating people about energy efficiency, and communicate store and brand values in a new way. In doing so, Super-Heero transforms energy efficiency projects into an experience. The marketing and advertising, in-store promotion, bonuses and rewards and inauguration ceremonies are fun, directly touch people and provide stores and brands with a direct tool to show they are part of the energy transition solution.
Super-Heero also thinks bigger. It isn’t only supermarkets that can benefit from the approach and methodology. The project has identified a set of other sectors where Super Heero will point next. These include, retailers, shopping centers, restaurants, hotels, sport associations, schools and other buildings where communities are present. There is a lot of work to do, a lot of value to unlock and a lot of sustainability interventions to accelerate, motivate and realize using Super Heero.
The core of the 36-month Super Heero work program can be broken into the following five thematic areas and accomplished the following main results.
Innovative financial scheme: The project developed a model and multi-sided ecosystem that puts together building owners (supermarkets), project developers (ESCOs), technology providers and investors.
Crowdlending Platform: The Super-Heero crowdlending platform is the key technology used to host and promote energy efficiency project campaigns, to collect funds for the project proponent and then to redistribute principle plus interest to the participating investors across time.
Technology renovation packages and Technology Partner Program: The project has identified both individual technologies and sets of renovation packages well suited for various supermarket typologies. The project also features a technology and service partner program.
Marketing, Advertising and Crowdlending Campaigns: Realizing excellent projects and stakeholder experiences. Project briefings, informational training, the use of posters, postcards and digital marketing, customized points, coupons and reward programs, engagement of local municipal officials, in-store events, webinars, and a celebration ceremony.
Capacity Building: For interested parties who would like to learn more about Super Heero, the following are available as part of a capacity-building program:
Email: info@super-heero.com
Training page: https://super-heero.eu/training/(opens in new window)
Crowdlending Platform: https://www.super-heero.com/en/home(opens in new window)
Public Reports: https://super-heero.eu/documents/(opens in new window)
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@super-heeroproject(opens in new window)
Several key reports include D2.5 (Lessons learned), D4.1(Best Practice Guidelines), D2.2 (Technology Guidelines), D3.1 (Supermarket engagement programs) and D2.4 (Pilot Assessments).
Innovative financial scheme: The project developed a model and multi-sided ecosystem that puts together building owners (supermarkets), project developers (ESCOs), technology providers and investors.
Crowdlending Platform: The Super-Heero crowdlending platform is the key technology used to host and promote energy efficiency project campaigns, to collect funds for the project proponent and then to redistribute principle plus interest to the participating investors across time.
Technology renovation packages and Technology Partner Program: The project has identified both individual technologies and sets of renovation packages well suited for various supermarket typologies. The project also features a technology and service partner program.
Marketing, Advertising and Crowdlending Campaigns: Realizing excellent projects and stakeholder experiences. Project briefings, informational training, the use of posters, postcards and digital marketing, customized points, coupons and reward programs, engagement of local municipal officials, in-store events, webinars, and a celebration ceremony.
Capacity Building: For interested parties who would like to learn more about Super Heero, the following are available as part of a capacity-building program:
Email: info@super-heero.com
Training page: https://super-heero.eu/training/(opens in new window)
Crowdlending Platform: https://www.super-heero.com/en/home(opens in new window)
Public Reports: https://super-heero.eu/documents/(opens in new window)
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@super-heeroproject(opens in new window)
Several key reports include D2.5 (Lessons learned), D4.1(Best Practice Guidelines), D2.2 (Technology Guidelines), D3.1 (Supermarket engagement programs) and D2.4 (Pilot Assessments).
Super-Heero is one-of-a-kind. The innovative financing scheme and crowdlending platform are available to everyone. They are not exclusive to any one brand, project developer or technology provider and such an approach/platform is not otherwise present anywhere. Super Heero has a clear opportunity to create a new normal in sustainable investing and way of getting energy efficiency renovations done under its brand.
The socio-economic impacts and wider societal implications are clear, concrete and stimulating. Crowdvestors directly benefit financially, learn about EE and gain a sense of community. Exit surveys show these investors think more highly of the brands offering the projects and a significant portion state they plan to increase their spending there. For brands, stores and franchise owners, projects on the shelf are unlocked and where financing or knowledge is a barrier, those can be removed.
In Spain, two stores were audited and interventions were carried out by the involved brand. That brand has expanded the approach to a wider set of 20-30 store locations, financing is needed and an EPC is under discussion.
In Italy, two crowdlending campaigns have been carried out where in total 101k euro was raised from 99 investors for two PV systems. The first is installed and producing energy. The second is being installed in August 2023. A third relamping project has been contracted and two new locations are under design.
There is also the Super Heero manifesto launched by the Comune di Padova. The document falls under Padova's Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) and acknowledges that the Super-Heero is a valuable tool to pursue the goal of the SECAP and Padova's response to the NetZeroCities challenge to attain climate neutrality by 2030.
The socio-economic impacts and wider societal implications are clear, concrete and stimulating. Crowdvestors directly benefit financially, learn about EE and gain a sense of community. Exit surveys show these investors think more highly of the brands offering the projects and a significant portion state they plan to increase their spending there. For brands, stores and franchise owners, projects on the shelf are unlocked and where financing or knowledge is a barrier, those can be removed.
In Spain, two stores were audited and interventions were carried out by the involved brand. That brand has expanded the approach to a wider set of 20-30 store locations, financing is needed and an EPC is under discussion.
In Italy, two crowdlending campaigns have been carried out where in total 101k euro was raised from 99 investors for two PV systems. The first is installed and producing energy. The second is being installed in August 2023. A third relamping project has been contracted and two new locations are under design.
There is also the Super Heero manifesto launched by the Comune di Padova. The document falls under Padova's Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) and acknowledges that the Super-Heero is a valuable tool to pursue the goal of the SECAP and Padova's response to the NetZeroCities challenge to attain climate neutrality by 2030.