Waitrose opened its greenest- ever store this week close to its Berkshire HQ.
Carbon emissions from the 25,000 sq ft Bracknell store will be 80% lower than those of a typical Waitrose branch of the same size.
An on-site generator using woodchips sourced locally from the Forestry Commission will account for a large share of the carbon saving, reducing CO2 emissions by 800 tonnes. It will meet all the store’s heating, cooling and electricity needs – and produce an extra 150,000 kWh of energy for the national grid.
Waitrose – already planning to install another generator at East Coves on the Isle of Wight – said they would be invaluable to its aim to cut absolute carbon emissions by 15% by 2020.
“We’re keen to roll out on-site energy centres more widely. They offer massive CO2 savings and will reduce the amount we spend on energy in the long term,” said director of development Nigel Keen.
The new store also features a number of biodiversity innovations, including a roof covered with wild grass, a ‘living wall’, nest boxes for bats and swifts – and even a bug box the size of a telephone booth for hibernating insects.
Waitrose will be submitting the store for ‘outstanding’ certification under the BRE Environmental Assessment Method, having already been awarded the accolade for its Stratford City store.
“We are confident our Bracknell shop will achieve the BREEAM outstanding rating – something we’ll be very proud of,” said Keen
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