Sustainable energy performance contracts for shopping centres

Ametzondo Shopping is a 53,000 sq.m., 100-store shopping mall opened in 2016 near Bayonne, in southwestern France. Initially responsible for the site’s multitechnical maintenance, SPIE’s remit has since been expanded to an energy performance contract that is now delivering significant energy savings. 

Anthony Brault, the mall’s Technical and Safety Director, talks about the partnership.

“Ametzondo Shopping is one of 33 international shopping centres managed by Ingka group, a leading Ikea franchisee. Even though energy optimisation was designed into our centre from the beginning, we are still facing the serious challenge of reducing our use, for three reasons: to comply with increasingly stringent regulations, to meet the ambitious decarbonisation targets set by Ingka group, and to hold down the costs rebilled to our tenant retailers.

So when SPIE proactively offered in 2019 to transform our initial maintenance contract into an energy performance contract, the timing was perfect! Specifically, the SPIE Facilities team undertook to meet precise energy use reduction targets, primarily by optimising the management of our utilities installations. Since then, the contract has been renewed, in 2023, and SPIE has helped us to set up Energisme, an energy management platform that supports much more accurate monitoring of all our power meters. A SPIE Facilities energy manager tracks the metering every day, enabling us to respond as soon as we notice any excess consumption. This delivered a 30% reduction in the mall’s electricity consumption between 2018 and 2023. What’s more, the support of SPIE Facilities’ dedicated team enabled Ametzondo Shopping to earn international BREEAM In-Use certification, attesting to the environmental performance of existing assets.

We fully intend to build on this momentum in the months ahead. In early 2024, SPIE won the tender for our most recent energy performance contract, which calls for a 4% reduction in the mall’s energy use over the next three years. The Group has also been selected to help us thoroughly overhaul our utilities management interface, with the aim of integrating the stores as well as the common areas. This means that our partnership is truly a long-term undertaking.”