Powerhouse DIY, Garden and Hardware Store chain, Bunnings Warehouse, has been quietly rolling out Safety Path exit signs across its extensive national retail property portfolio for more than five years.

Bunnings, part of the Australian Wesfarmers group, has recognised climate change and implemented a corporate strategy to make the organisation more sustainable. Wesfarmers’ targets for Bunnings include achieving a 10% reduction in kt CO2e by 2025, using short-term strategies such as energy-efficient technology, working with landlords to trial energy-efficiency projects, and reducing waste to landfill.

With strong corporate leadership and despite being a major lighting retailer, a large number of new stores have implemented energy-efficient and waste-reducing Safety Path photoluminescent exit signs instead of electric-battery exit sign technology. 

Bunnings recognised the environmental benefits and savings in construction costs by eliminating an average of 40 electric-battery exit signs from each new store, as well as the ongoing maintenance, replacement and disposal of eWaste. With failed exit signs often wrongly sent to landfill, there’s a major benefit in transferring to long-life non-electric commercial-grade photoluminescent exit signs.

Legacy electric exit signs being replaced

SmarterLite provides Safety Path Photoluminescent Exit Signs to Bunnings for its store fitouts and refurbishments. SmarterLite’s Chief Technology Officer, Zoran Ovuka, explained “With so many exit signs across their buildings, it makes environmental and commercial sense to replace legacy electric exit signs with high-performing photoluminescent exit signs. Bunnings no longer has to worry about identifying and regularly repairing faulty exit signs. Each store’s emissions are lower, and there are no spent signs, batteries or electric components being sent to landfill.”

“With an average of 40 lights per store, across the nearly 80 stores that have been converted, we estimate that Bunnings has eliminated well over 150,000 kg CO₂e from its emissions every year.  With an expected life of thirty years, the lifetime financial savings through their operation mean they are commercially viable option for new buildings, refurbishments and maintenance.”

In fact, in recent devastating floods in Lismore in 2022, the only essential services in the local Bunnings store that survived the floods undamaged was their Smarterlite exit signs. Fortunately, Bunnings had chosen the tough Apollo range of signs.

Safety Path’s high-performing commercial-grade photoluminescent exit signs meet the performance requirements set out in the National Construction Code, meaning they are significantly brighter for longer, and will still be visible well-after emergency power supplies have expired and electric signs are no longer visible.

Where to buy Safety Path Exit Signs

You too can enjoy the benefits of Safety Path Exit Signs by buying them online from Safety Path’s online store.

(Note: Safety Path Exit Signs are available directly from Safety Path and are not sold in Bunnings stores.)