Supermarket chain Sainsbury recently started offering solar panels and insulation in its stores and website. Now, Marks & Spencer announced it will open its most sustainable store in April.
Part of the M&S’s Simply Food division, the new shop will be in Sheffield in the north of England. M&S intends to minimize the environment impact both during construction and to operate the shop.
M&S listed in a press release what it will do to make the store sustainable:
-Feature materials that have been carefully selected in order to reduce waste and energy use: 100% of the construction waste produced in the building of the store has been recycled;
-The project is undergoing full FSC certification and M&S expects 100% of the timber used in the building will be FSC certified;
-All the bricks have been reclaimed from an old mill;
-Polished concrete floors will remove the need for additional floor covering.
Operate sustainably:
-Harvested rainwater will supply all the toilets and irrigate the store’s green ‘living wall’, reducing water costs by up to 40% compared with a conventional similarly sized store;
-The store will also be heated by expelled heat from its refrigeration units, helping to reduce the its carbon output by 23%;
-Highly efficient LED lighting will be used throughout the store, and sun pipes will bring natural lighting onto the shop floor.
-Create wildlife habitats:
-A sedum roof and green ‘living wall’ will insulate the building and act as a pollution filter;
-Bird boxes around the perimeter wall of the site;
-62 types of plants are being planted on or around the store.
-Provide sustainable transport solutions for customers:
-Electric car charging points will be available in the car park;
-LED screens in the store will give customers real time local transport information;
-Trolley and cycle shelters, located in the car park, will also be made from FSC certified wood and have a green sedum roof.
M&S was one of the first mainstream shops in the UK to stop giving plastic bags to customers. Since 2007 all of its toiletries and cosmetic products carry the leaping bunny logo, which means the product was not tested on animals across the whole chain of suppliers.
