Marks & Spencer has unveiled its greenest ever store at Ecclesall Road in Sheffield. The store is the first of a number of new stores billed as ‘Sustainable Learning’ centres, that are part of M&S’ drive to become the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015.
The 12,400 sq ft store, built on a former brownfield site, incorporates a host of sustainable design and construction solutions including an LED screen giving real time public transport information, electric car charging points and sun pipes to bring natural lighting to the shop floor. All the bricks used in the build have also been reclaimed from a local mill.
“This store represents a big milestone in our sustainable construction programme”, said Clem Constantine, director of property and store development at M&S. “Each of these sustainable features is remarkable in its own right, however by bringing them all together in one development, something that is rarely done by retailers, we will achieve a whole that is worth far more than the sum of its parts”.
The Learning Stores are intended to further enhance M&S’ understanding of sustainable construction, helping the company to create future stores that are made from 100% recycled material, are 100 per cent recyclable and have zero embodied carbon in construction. The aim is for all future stores to have a net positive biodiversity impact and be resilient to climate change.
The store is aiming for a BREEAM Excellent rating and has also received a Considerate Constructors Scheme score of 37.5 out of 40.