Sustainable Surveillance: Supporting Green Digitalisation In Retail
Retail crime stats make for some alarming reading. The UK’s Association of Convenience Stores reports 5.6 million recorded incidents of theft in 2024, a more than five-fold increase over the previous year. Violence has increased, up to around 76,000 incidents, with 87% of convenience store workers facing verbal abuse in 2024. Evidence gathering has never been more important, and there is no avoiding the need to invest in security and surveillance – but environmental impact must also be studied at the procurement stage.
Consumers and regulators are increasingly demanding+ better from retailers’ sustainability activities and seek proof that businesses are taking the relevant steps to protect the environment. Good security provision is non-negotiable, and the Competition and Markets Authority would not look kindly on a retailer failing to comply with the Green Claims Code, so it is imperative that retailers both improve surveillance and sustainability in tandem. That’s where green digitalisation comes in.
Smart Purchases For Sustainability
As its name implies, green digitalisation is concerned with applying digital tools to achieve environmental goals. Retailers installing or upgrading surveillance equipment need to consider the sustainability credentials of the hardware, such as the materials used at source in new products; how supply chain practices will support their environmental goals; and the total cost of ownership over that system’s lifespan to include, for instance, the energy a system is likely to consume.
Retailers should, as they increasingly do for the products they stock, feel emboldened to choose not based on price at first acquisition but on trust, ethical alignment, and the ongoing costs of running and maintaining that system. Seek out products built upon a policy of sustainability-first design. Look beyond the manufacturer and to its supply chain to determine the real impact that product has on the world. Demand honesty from security partners and look for clarity in their sustainability reporting.
Building Clever Efficiencies
Power consumption can be an issue. The traditional security network structure might seem to dictate that numerous cameras feed footage to a large bank of servers. Once this might have been true, but today’s hardware is smarter and more versatile. Clever use of high-resolution cameras allows a larger area to be covered with fewer surveillance cameras. With a sharp enough sensor, areas of interest can be split off for security personnel. A 360-degree panoramic camera could de-warp fisheye footage with on-board processing, outputting digital PTZ or even four distinct area views, doing the job of several cameras with a single low-power installation.
Look for savings outside the camera too. Better low-light performance could mean retailers do not need to leave stores and perimeters fully illuminated overnight. On-board AI-boosted analytics reduce the demand on servers by allowing camera hardware to do the hard work. The more a camera can do, the less everything else needs to do, leading to greater energy efficiency, reduced operational costs and lower carbon emissions in line with sustainability goals.
That’s just the baseline. Consider the modern camera as a powerful sensor with a dedicated computer built in. The smart insights that combination can generate can directly power further green digitalisation efforts in creative and innovative ways. A lateral application of such existing – and essential – technology, allows a camera to perform double duty, maintaining its security function while enriching retailers’ data streams.
Generating Powerful Insights
Thermal cameras could monitor chilled areas looking for unexpected temperature changes in order to detect inefficient freezers, for example. Cameras trained on shelves could assist with efficient inventory management, helping to reduce waste. Integration with point-of-sale, access control, energy management, smart lighting, or any number of other smart systems helps improve decision making and drive sustainable initiatives.
None of this gets in the way of the camera’s role in surveillance. Installing cameras with higher resolution and higher quality sensors means better evidence gathering. On-board applications can help cameras act as a stronger deterrent for antisocial behaviour – a camera detecting loitering could trigger a loudspeaker alert, for example, or one detecting motion in an area of interest might automatically alert security personnel. Retailers can use their cameras to build the environment that works for them.
The Right Choice For The Future
This only works, though, if surveillance equipment is able to communicate with the other sensors and systems that make a retail business run smoothly. Many manufacturers rely on closed ecosystems which are difficult, if not impossible, to integrate with other sensors and systems. It is important to look for those offering modular, open platforms which can provide the flexibility such initiatives demand, as well as the scalability to grow with the needs of a retail business.
It’s most important to re-contextualise the role of the camera not only as an essential component of protecting premises and staff, but as a stride forward for green digitalisation. An upgrade to a suitable security ecosystem is an investment worth making, one which can result in substantial cost savings, greater reliability, vital sustainability gains and – most importantly – a reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour. A little initiative mixed with a lot of hardware and software innovation makes for a smarter, safer and greener future.
Graham Swallow MSyI – Axis Business Development Manager for UK, Ireland and Nordic regions
